The Power of Flight
by NightWhisper184
Summary: After Harry starts acting strange around her, Ginny takes to the sky for comfort. A few confusing encounters with a certain blond Slytherin messes up Ginny's life even more. Can the power of flight bring two former enemies together once and for all?
1. Chapter 1

Alrighty, so for any of you that read my first fic, Layers for Teen Titans, you might know that I said I would be working on a fic for the party mentioned in the epilogue. Well, don't worry, I still am! This story though, has just been sitting on my pc for a while, practically begging to be published. I finally succumbed to peer pressure and posted it. So here it is! Be kind, it's only my second fic, and the first one for Hary Potter lol. Well, enjoy! :) Oh and yes, as the summary said, there will be major insanity involved, but it's all in good fun. . . .right?

* * *

Ginny Weasley gazed around the jam-packed train station. It seemed strange coming back to Platform 9 ¾ after everything that had happened only a few months ago. The number of students returning to Hogwarts to repeat the pervious year was overwhelming. Even those few students who officially completed their seventh year were returning to receive their proper instruction.

The Battle for Hogwarts had affected the whole wizarding world, and nothing would ever be the same again. _But then again, maybe that's a good thing_, Ginny mused to herself with a bittersweet smile.

The scarlet haired teenager gazed at each of her friends silently, thankful that they had survived the war in one piece. Not all had been so fortunate. The sight of her beloved older brother Fred's smiling face before he was killed by a deatheater was forever burned into her mind.

A sudden prick at the back of her eyes alerted her that she was dwelling on matters that should not be dwelled on for too long. Her boyfriend Harry saw the stricken look on her face and knew she was thinking about her brother. He hastily wrapped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. The other two watched them in silence.

Ron knew what his sister was going through because he felt it too. He missed bickering with his older brother all the time.

His girlfriend, Hermonie, was very close to Ginny and her family, and had been the one who comforted her at the Burrow when she woke up crying after a nightmare about the battle.

The whistle of the Hogwarts Express jerked each of them from their own private thoughts. They swiftly gathered their luggage and boarded the train. Choosing a compartment towards the back where they wouldn't be bothered, they strolled down the aisle in a single file line with Ginny at the end.

Once Ginny put her luggage away, she informed the others that she had to talk to Headmistress McGonagall about something. Waving goodbye, she quickly made her way to the front of the train where she knew the Headmistress would be.

During the summer, Ginny had received a letter from McGonagall telling her about a new program the school would be participating in to help the teachers with the heavy workload that comes from having a whole school of students repeat a year. Five students would be assistants to different subject professors.

Ginny had been selected to be the assistant to Professor Flitwick for Charms class. Harry had been contacted about being the assistant to the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Hermonie had been selected to be McGonagall's assistant in Transfiguration class. They didn't know who the other two students were yet.

"Professor, I don't think I'm the best choice to be an assistant professor," she blurted out as soon as she walked into the compartment before she could stop herself. The weary old witch simply smiled kindly at her.

"Child, I have no doubt in my mind that you will do an excellent job. I know the past couple of months have been very hard on your family, but that does not mean you can just wallow in depression. I too have felt the loss of a loved one before, and know what you are going through. Something to take your mind off Fred and the others will help you get back on your feet I think. Now, hurry along. Your friends are waiting for you I imagine," she replied firmly, a twinkle in her kind eyes once again.

Lost in thought, the young teenager was passing by a compartment when she heard a soft thump and a muffled grunt of pain. Alarmed by the sound, she peeked in the door and was shocked to find Zabini standing over Malfoy, pointing a wand at his face.

A closer look revealed blood dripping from Malfoy's slender nose and his wand lying on the floor between the door and Zabini. When the light haired teenager spotted her, his face paled even more, if it was possible. Zabini whirled around, a terrifying sneer on his face.

"Well well well. Look who we have here; it's the little Weaselette isn't it? Hmm, you seem to have found me in a very difficult position here Gryffindork. You see, I was in the middle of a very important discussion with my best friend Malfoy here when you so rudely interrupted," he said to her in a mocking tone.

Ginny glanced from the wand now pointed towards her own chest to Malfoy, lying on the floor covered in blood. The sight brought horrific memories of her eldest brother Bill after he had been mauled by Greyback two years ago and her blood seemed to freeze in her veins; not from fear but from anger.

Her own wand was in her hands before she could even blink. "_Petrificus Totalu_s!" she whispered coldly, a hard look in her eyes. Zabini suddenly collapsed onto the floor at Ginny's feet, a stunned look on his face because he had been unable to block the powerful spell in time.

Malfoy was openly staring at her. She couldn't blame him actually. It **was** rather odd for a Gryffindor to save a Slytherin from one of his own house members.

She didn't pause to analyze it however. Slowly lowering her wand to his face, she saw him flinch and brace himself for her attack. But she merely muttered the spell to fix his nose. "_Episkey!_" A quick look at his face revealed a now perfectly normal looking nose. However, his face and clothes were still slightly bloody, the sight making her stomach churn. "_Scourgify_!"

Satisfied with her work, she turned smartly on her heels and walked out, feeling Malfoy's confused gaze on her the entire time. Trying to put the incident out of her mind, she slowly walked down to the compartment she had been headed for before stopping to save Malfoy from Zabini. _Never in my life would I have imagined I would ever think those words_, she mused with a snort.

Hermonie asked her what had took her so long, but Ginny only shook her head, not wanting to talk about it. She took a seat beside Harry and stared out the window. The look on Malfoy's face kept haunting her.

What was he thinking when he saw her point her wand at his face? Did he think she was going to hex him too? The thought made her snort in amusement again, causing Harry to glance at her funny.

The train ride seemed to last forever to Ginny. She had secretly been dreading returning to the school. Nightmares had plagued her sleep ever since the horrific battle that had changed her life. Many of the students in her year were not even bothering to return, opting instead to be home schooled by their parents or go straight to looking for a job.

Because she had been staring out the window, Ginny was the first to notice the majestic towers of Hogwarts appearing over the gently sloping hills of the countryside. The old castle gradually rose into view, looking as if the past year and a half had never happened.

The sight brought a strange sense of comfort to Ginny. Like it or not, Hogwarts was her home. It had been for the past six years. Most likely, it would always have a special place in her heart.

The four Gryffindors rapidly pulled on their black school robes over their regular clothes. A few moments later, the train pulled into Hogsmead Station and the students silently filed out. As she was gazing around the station, she noticed Malfoy standing alone away from the group, an uncertain expression on his handsome face.

Another curious flicker of pity shot through her, but she quickly suppressed it. He didn't deserve her pity. He was the reason her brother Bill was horribly scarred on his face. And she would never forget that.

* * *

So, what do you think so far? Everyone in character good enough? Don't worry, Ginny is going to lighten up considerably in future chapters. And Malfoy might be a little OOC, but hopefully not **too** much :)


	2. Chapter 2

The Great Hall was alight with floating candles and the starry night's sky twinkled down upon Ginny's head from the enchanted ceiling. Gazing around the room from her spot beside Harry at the Gryffindor table, she noticed that the Slytherin table was looking very empty. It seemed that many of the student's parents had not seen fit to send them back to repeat the previous year.

Ginny didn't blame them actually. Most of the Slytherins had sided with Voldemort during the war, and would not be welcomed very warmly. That thought brought her mind back to Malfoy and Zabini. Malfoy sat alone at the far end of the table, a carefully constructed bored look on his face.

Years of observation had made Ginny an expert at knowing what each student at Hogwarts was truly feeling, however. Malfoy was simply pretending to not care that his house members were glaring at him from the other end of the table, Zabini being the most prominent one.

The sudden opening of the Great Hall doors jerked Ginny's thoughts back to her immediate surroundings. New first years walked forward behind the very short Professor Flitwick. They stopped at the foot of the High Table, where a rickety four-legged wooden stool was sitting.

McGonagall carefully placed an old battered hat on the stool and stood back. The hat opened its slit and started belting out an eerie song that made goose bumps pop up on Ginny's arms.

_Another year has come_

_I welcome you back_

_To old Hogwarts dear_

_And hope you have learned_

_To put aside past hurts_

_And unite together_

_To save one another_

_The past is gone_

_Tomorrow hasn't come_

_Only today remains_

_Remember your ties young ones_

_For your greatest enemy shall become your greatest ally_

A baffled silence was left as the last notes of the weary hat's song rang out and slowly faded. Finally, McGonagall cleared her throat and proceeded to call the students to come up to the sorting hat to be sorted into their respective houses as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. In the end, Gryffyndor ended up with seven new students, Hufflepuff with five, Ravenclaw with nine, and Slytheryn with only two.

Ginny clapped when each young student was sorted into their house, even the two who were sorted into Slytherin. Everybody turned towards their plate, expecting the table to be overflowing with delicious foods. The Headmistress clapped her hands together two times quit forcefully to get everybody's attention.

"Students, I would like to welcome you all back to another year at Hogwarts. The past two and a half years have been very challenging on all of us. However, I know that if we all try to put the past aside, that we can work together to build a better future.

"But, first, I have a few announcements to make. We have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher again. Septimus Lupin, brother to a previous D.A.D.A. professor, Remus Lupin." All eyes turned towards a young man sitting beside Professor Flitwick, a warm smile on his weather beaten face.

"Also, we have a new program here at Hogwarts that will allow our teachers to handle the extra workload brought upon them this year. Five students have been selected to become assistant professors to the five core subjects. They have all agreed, and I would like to say a word of thanks to the following students:

"Ms. Granger, the new assistant Transfiguration professor; Mr. Potter, the new assistant Defence Against the Dark Arts professor; Mr. Longbottom, the new assistant Herbology professor; Ms. Weasley, the new assistant Charms professor; and finally, Mr. Malfoy, the new assistant Potions professor."

Everybody clapped at each name, but when she called out Malfoy's name, there was a stunned silence. Ginny was horrified that Malfoy of all people would be chosen to be an assistant professor. After all, he had tried to kill Dumbledore! Not to mention, letting Greyback into the school to attack the students.

"Also, first years should note that the Forbidden Forest is strictly off limits. Hogsmead visits by students year three and above will start in three weeks. Do not forget that Quidditch try outs will be in two weeks. Thank you," she finished. Another clap of her hands had the plates overflowing with food as usual.

After the feast, McGonagall dismissed the students to their dorms, but called five students back. "Will Ms. Granger, Ms. Weasley, Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom, and Mr. Malfoy please stay behind for a moment?" McGonagall smiled slightly at their hesitant expressions. Malfoy pointedly ignored the glares Harry, Neville, and Hermonie were sending him.

"I just wanted to have a word with you about your new duties. You will spend your free periods in the morning helping your professor get the class ready for class. Weekends, you will also help prepare lessons and receive further instruction in each of your chosen subjects. It is an honor to teach, one I am glade you five can participate in.," McGonagall told them before dismissing them to their dorms. Malfoy swiftly walked away, Harry glaring at him the whole time.

The four Gryffindors quickly made their way back to the Gryffindor tower. The others discussed their new positions as assistant professors, but Ginny couldn't get the look on Malfoy's face out of her mind. Before she knew it, they were already at the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Swinxia Xeroc," Hermonie said firmly. After a quick wave and a 'goodnight!', the Fat Lady swung open to reveal a large hole in the wall.

Ginny glanced around the Gryffindor common room wordlessly. It had been so long since she had seen it. Plush armchairs and sofas draped in scarlet and gold surrounded a roaring fire. A notice board was pinned up on the opposite wall, showing when Quidditch tryouts where, and other important information. A few desks lay scattered throughout the large room, for students to study or do homework on.

Scarlet tapestries adorned the walls, and depicted famous witches and wizards. Two doors opened to spiral staircases leading up the boy's and girl's dormitories. The whole room let off a warm, cozy feeling that made Ginny want to just curl up with a good book in front of the comforting fire.

It looked just like it had before the battle. It made her feel as if she had come home after a long day.

Bidding goodnight to her friends who were discussing how cute the new Professor Lupin was, Ginny decided to go straight to bed, and unpack later. She walked over to the door leading to the girl's dorms and went up the spiral staircase.

Opening the door at the top, she noticed five four-posture beds with bed covers and heavy, velvet curtains in the same scarlet and gold scheme from downstairs. Her small trunk was sitting at the foot of one of the beds on the left side of the room, labeling it as hers for the year. A small wooden table sat beside her bed, with a short white candle on it.

Shrugging out of her heavy black robe, she rummaged in her trunk for her pajama pants and tee-shirt. Snuggling deep under her silky golden covers, the red head soon drifted off to dream land on her fluffy scarlet and gold stitched pillows. She didn't even wake up when the other girls came in the door, laughing and giggling.


	3. Chapter 3

Ginny rolled over in her soft bed, cuddled by her silky golden covers. Sunlight streamed in through the tower window, basking the room in a warm glow. The other girls were still asleep, many with their curtains still closed to keep out the bright light. It was a Wednesday, so she had classes in two hours, but for now, she was free to enjoy the day.

Quickly jumping out of bed, she rummaged around in her trunk for black jeans, a white blouse, and black sweater. Once she found what she was looking for, she ran to the bathroom and knocked to make sure nobody was in there. Hearing no response, she walked in, and shut and locked the door. Running a hand through her messy red hair, she decided to put it up in a casual pony tail.

After a quick splash of water of her face, she quickly brushed her teeth and ran down the stairs to the common room. Harry, Ron, and Hermonie were the only ones there. They were sitting on the couch in front of the fire, laughing at something Harry had said.

"Hey guys. Does it feel as weird being back to you as it does for me?" Ginny asked as she sat down on the couch beside Harry. The other three wore guilty expressions that they quickly wiped off as the realized Ginny was looking at them.

"What? Oh yea. Weird. . . ." Harry said, trailing off oddly. Ginny glanced from him to the other two who were trying to keep from laughing. "What's going on? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, confused as to what they found so funny.

Hermonie and Ron suddenly couldn't keep it in any longer and burst out laughing. Harry's mouth twitched and he avoided Ginny's eyes. She glared at them, wanting to know what was going on.

"Fine! Laugh it up. Like I care," she muttered, getting up and stalking out of the room. Absently brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, she almost didn't notice Malfoy and Zabini in front of her. She quickly hid behind a suit of armor and watched silently, her breath catching for some strange reason.

"Look Zabini, I don't have time for this. Can't we just beat each other up some other time?" Malfoy asked in a bored tone, his gaze roaming around the corridor. His silver eyes narrowed as he spotted a flash of red behind a suit of armor. Just as he was strolling forward to check it out, Zabini grabbed the front of his expensive black robes and slammed him painfully against the wall.

"I don't think so pretty boy. You either admit that you're not in charge anymore or I make your life miserable," Zabini hissed, his wand now frighteningly close to Malfoy's eyes. Malfoy suddenly smirked at him. How clueless could he be?

"My mother is dying from depression, my father is in Azkaban awaiting a dementor's kiss, and I don't have any friends because half the school hates me for being a deatheater while the other half hates me for _not_ being a true deatheater. I don't think it _can _get any worse," he said dryly, keeping a careful eye on the tip of the wand.

Zabini thought this over for a moment. He suddenly let go of Malfoy's robes and stepped back. "I guess you're right. So, stay out of my way, and I won't hurt you," Zabini told him with a self-satisfied smirk, and then walked away. Malfoy silently watched him walk down the hall and rolled his eyes. After a few seconds, he turned towards where Ginny was hiding and raised a pale eyebrow. "Well, did you enjoy my little sob story?"

Ginny quickly stepped out from behind the suit of armor and studied him. "Not really, no," she answered softly. A cloud passed over his face before he composed himself. She strolled on past him, intending to go on to the Great Hall. When she passed him though, she caught a whiff of the most delicious scent in the entire world. She jerked to a stop and quickly walked back up to him. Sniff sniff.

"Uhh Weaselette, why are you sniffing me?" he asked cautiously. She stared at him for a minuet then inhaled again. "Umm. . . .no reason. Bye," she muttered before hastily turning and walking away.

Malfoy stared at her retreating back, a bemused smile teasing his lips.


	4. Chapter 4

The days passed quickly for Ginny. Between her own classes, Quidditch practices, and helping out Professor Flitwick, she hardly had any time to spend with Harry. The thing that really bothered her, however, was the fact that Harry wasn't the least bit upset at not seeing her! That really hurt, as it made her feel like he didn't truly care about her.

One day, things got a little more confusing for Ginny after another strange encounter with a certain light haired teenage boy.

Ginny had just finished helping Professor Flitwick prepare a lesson for a class of third years. "Thank you Ms. Weasley! Have a nice weekend!" he squeaked to her before she waved and walked out the door of the Charms classroom.

Feeling slightly lonely, Ginny ran up to the Gryffindor commons room to see if anyone was there. Since it was a Hogsmead weekend, she doubted it. A quick peek revealed Harry, Ron, and Hermonie sitting on the plush couch in front of the fire. Laughing and chatting to each other, they didn't even notice when Ginny crept in through the hole behind the portrait of the Fat Lady. _They must have gotten back early from Hogsmead_, Ginny reasoned.

She stood with one foot on the stairs leading up to the girl's dorms, looking over her shoulder at the three friends uncertainly. Should she interrupt them and risk not being welcome? Or should she take the coward's way out and just go straight to her room? The happy look on her boyfriend's face made her decision for her.

He used to look that way when he was with her. Lately, however, interaction between them had become restricted to strained and awkward attempts at conversations. Snogging was completely forgotten. A slight blush came over her fair cheeks.

Yes, she wished for the days when Harry was completely in love with her, and couldn't wait to spend time with her. Looking back though, she wondered if those days were even real. At least, real in the way she saw them.

Was she just a distraction for Harry? A distraction from Voldemort, the war, and everything else? No, she told herself firmly. That simply wasn't true. It couldn't be true. But…what if it was?

Ginny slowly trudged over to her neat bed adorned with scarlet and gold stitched pillows, and scarlet curtains. Spreading a hand over the silky covers, she felt a slight burning sensation behind her chocolate brown eyes. _No! I promised myself I would not cry over a boy again. Especially Harry. I have wasted too many tears on that scarhead! _

A small gasp rushed forth from her mouth. She had called him scarhead! She smirked slightly. _Oh, well what he doesn't know wont hurt him_, she thought still slightly guilty. After all, it was just a name, right? And he certainly deserved it!

She searched around her bed for ideas of what to do with her free time. A book perhaps? No, she had already finished reading all her school books from cover to cover. Not feeling like going all the way down to the library for a book, she tried to think of something else. She had finished all her homework the day before, and Professor Flitwick told her to take the weekend off.

Suddenly, the pull of the sky was too strong to ignore. Flying would take her mind off her troubles. In the past, whenever she had a bad day, she would go and grab her broom. The feeling of soaring through the clouds, of letting all your troubles slip away, was so freeing. _Yes_, she thought firmly. _I think I need some fly time_.


	5. Chapter 5

Once she was up in the air, nothing seemed to matter anymore. The wind whipped her silky red hair around her face, but she didn't care. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had been agonizing over whether Harry's love for her was true or not. She let out a joyful laugh, which the wind stole away as soon as it left her mouth. _This is freedom_, she thought. _This is what I was born for._

Malfoy was just getting ready to fly up on his broom to practice for his upcoming Quidditch match against Ravenclaw (and get away from Zabini's insufferably inflated ego), when he saw a figure already in the sky. The person was too far away to tell who it was, but he could still tell that whoever it was, they were good.

Lifting a hand to shade his eyes from the glaring sun, Malfoy followed the person as they went through several advanced flight formations and techniques. He couldn't help but let out a slow whistle of admiration. The person had perfect control over their broom. It looked like a dance in midair instead of simple flying.

He blinked as the figure flew closer. No, it couldn't be. Weaselette?

"Hey ferret boy. Nice day for flying isn't it?" Ginny called down to him from above. Cheeks flushed and soft chocolate brown eyes sparkling, she looked incredible even with her windblown red hair, an old Weird Sisters shirt on, and faded blue jeans. She was absolutely beautiful.

Wait, what? The Weaselette? What was wrong with him? How could he describe her like _that_ when he knew she was a Weasley? A blood traitor? Not to mention Scarhead's little girlfriend. . . .

Ginny's smirk had an uncanny resemblance to his own signature smirk. _Who knew she had such adorable lips?_ Disgusted at the direction his thoughts were taking, he scowled back at her, his eyes darkening to slate.

The scowl seemed to have no effect on the younger girl, because she simply laughed and flew low enough to be at eye level with him. "Come on Malfoy. Live a little. Sheesh, you're almost as uptight as Harry," she goaded him, knowing that comparing him to his nemesis would make him furious. It seemed to work, because he narrowed his eyes and jumped on his broom. Ginny let out a grin in his direction.

The two had the whole field to themselves. Everybody else was either at Hogsmead by now or holed up in the castle. Soaring high into the sky, Ginny felt such peace as she only felt when she was flying. A glance over at Malfoy showed that he must be feeling something similar because she had never seen him as relaxed as he was now.

His pale face was smooth and rather handsome without his usual sneer on it. The wind tossed his silky platinum hair in his eyes, but he made no move to push it away. Staring deep into his brilliant silver eyes, she noticed a sparkle there that she had never seen before. _This is what he really feels_, she thought. _This is the one time when he can let go, and just exist._

Suddenly, he turned his head towards her and stared back at her. Ginny's breath caught as something foreign rushed through her. It was as if they shared a connection at that moment. It became too much, and she forced herself to rip her gaze away from his smoldering eyes. _Blast those eyes!_

"Well seeing as everybody is at Hogsmead and we have the whole pitch to ourselves, why don't we play some Quidditch? One on one? You look like you could use some practice." He smirked, his mask coming over him once more. Ginny rolled her eyes but nodded.

They played one on one Quidditch for a while, the time passing swiftly. Because there were only two of them, they both played all positions. Ginny had to admit, he was good. Very good in fact. His movements had a gracefulness to them that many spent their whole lives trying to achieve but never did.

Practicing with him was drastically different from practicing with Harry. It always seemed as if Harry held back when flying with her. As if he didn't think she had the skill to compete on his level. It didn't matter that she had taught herself to fly by sneaking out and playing on her brother's brooms for eleven years.

Malfoy, on the other hand, held nothing back. He used every ounce of skill he had in him against her. Practicing with him gave her a thrill that Harry never could. It scared her. And delighted her.

What was going on with her? Why did she feel like this around Malfoy? He had always tormented her and her family. Now, she felt at such ease with him as if they were best friends or something. _It's just because I'm flying_, she reasoned desperately with herself. _It has nothing to do with him. Or how good looking he is flying around on his broom like that. . . . _

All too soon, darkness fell. Ginny reluctantly waved to Malfoy, signaling she was going down. Nodding back at her, he dived down with her. By the time they got to the ground, both were panting from the rush of diving towards the ground at such high speeds. Running a hand through her messy red hair, she decided to put it up in a casual ponytail.

"I really had a great time today. In fact, I'm actually kind of glad Harry was busy with Ron and Hermonie now," Ginny told him without thinking. He turned towards her, surprised. An uncertain look flitted across his face as she held her breath. Then the mask fell down on his face once more.

"What, Potter have better things to do than baby-sit his sidekick's little sister?" he drawled in a cruelly mocking tone. Ginny glared at him then spun around smartly, her ponytail smacking him in the face with a satisfying 'thwack'. She marched towards Hogwarts with her broom on her shoulder and her head held high. Her silky hair swung back and forth with each step.

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing how much that had cut. She didn't want to think about Harry. Not now. Not when she had finally let go of her insecurities. She absently wiped a few tears from her eyes.

Malfoy watched her storm away, the wind making loose strands of hair dance around her face. Her comment had surprised him. What did she mean by that? Why did it matter so much?

_Snap out of it Malfoy_, he commanded himself sternly_. It's just the Weaselette after all. Not like it's anybody important._ A carefully blank look replaced his confused one. He was a Malfoy, and she was a Weasley. They could never be anything more than enemies. A little voice in the back of his head whispered, _**If she's your enemy, then why did you have so much fun with her?**_


	6. Chapter 6

Ginny stormed into the Gryffindor common room, not caring about the fact that she nearly gave a group of first years heart attacks. Her boyfriend noticed her coming in this time at least. Harry casually glanced up at her from his spot on the couch beside Hermonie and Ron.

"Oh Ginny! I thought you said Flitwick was keeping you all day," he said nervously before noticing the broom she now held in her hand. "Why do you have a broom?" he asked curiously. She glared at him, her temper rising once again.

"If you had paid any sort of attention Harry, you would have noticed that I came by a few hours ago and went up to my room. I then came _back_ down with my broom and went to the Quidditch pitch to practice. Does that answer all your questions?" she snarled at him, feeling a sick sort of pleasure from seeing his face turn pale at her tone.

"What's wrong Ginny? Are you feeling okay?" he asked cautiously, standing up slowly and walking toward her with a concerned look in his eyes. The other Gryffindors in the room all watched in stunned silence, their mouths hanging open. While Weasleys were known to have a temper to match their fiery red hair, they had never heard Ginny speak to Harry like that. Her brother, Ron, yes. But never Harry.

"Why would something be the matter Harry? I answered your question. What more do you want? What I do on my own time is my concern not yours. You didn't care about me earlier, so don't pretend to care now!"

Poor Harry stood there, staring at her back as she stomped up the stairs to the girl's dorm. He frantically tried to remember what he might have done to set her off, but couldn't think of anything. Sure, he might not have noticed her coming in earlier, but if she wanted to talk to him then she should have spoken up instead of sneaking around by herself. What was her problem?

Ginny shoved the door open and slammed it shut, throwing her broom on her bed. Whipping her wand out, she muttered a locking charm to make sure nobody came in while she was so distraught. Why had she blown up like that? What was wrong with her?

A soft sob broke out through the room. She slid down the door with her back against it and drew her knees up to her chest. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she laid her head down and cried. Why she was crying, she didn't know. All that mattered was that she needed to let it all out.

The peace she had felt in the Quidditch pitch with Malfoy was gone, replaced by a feeling of despair. The thought of Malfoy brought the events on the pitch rushing back at her. Why did he make her feel like this? Why couldn't it be Harry? Everything was so confusing right now.

Malfoy's scent was still swimming around in her brain, making her feel even worse. _Blast it, why does he have to smell like that? It's simply intoxicating. Sort of spicy and woodsy at the same time. . . ._

Even though it was dark, she jumped up and ran over to the large window beside her bed. She had to get away from it all, even if for just an hour or two. Grabbing her broom, she carefully opened the window and hopped on the broom. After pulling out her wand and releasing the charm on the door, the teenager flew out the window and into the clear night's sky.

The wind dried her tears, and chilled her body. Silently cursing herself for not at least grabbing a robe before she left, Ginny flew on nevertheless. Where she flew didn't matter, as long as it was away from the castle, and therefore away from both Harry and Malfoy. So, on into the night she rode on, lying low on her broom handle and staring down at the ground.

Soon, she was flying above the lake, the beautiful moon reflecting on the murky waters. Drifting a little lower, she trailed a hand in the water, throwing up spray into her face because of the speed she was going. The freezing liquid on her face chilled her, but made her feel better.

She knew that she would soon have to go back, but for now, she contented herself with flying leisurely over the tranquil waters of the lake. How long she was out there, she didn't know. But, she knew it was late, and she had things to do tomorrow.

With a reluctant sigh, she slowly turned back towards the castle and flew in the still open window. The other girls were already asleep, not caring to stay up to find out where Ginny went. That made Ginny even sadder, and the freeness she had felt flying disappeared once again.

She quietly changed into an old tee-shirt of Fred's and a pair of Ron's old boxer shorts. Cuddling comfortably under the covers, she quickly drifted off to sleep. That night, she dreamed of a silver haired prince flying towards her on his expensive broom, ready to fly away with her into the sunset.


	7. Chapter 7

Just wanted to say thanks to Pimberlee, marinka, and OnMyHighHorse for your reviewing! I hope yall like this chapter, next one should be up soon. :) Enjoy!

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Malfoy lounged back in a dark green, low back sofa in the Slytherin common room, listening as Zabini described in detail how he had terrified a group of second year Hufflepuff boys in the corridor outside of potions class. Ever since their confrontation in the corridor, they had struck up a truce of sorts. Malfoy didn't bother Zabini, and Zabini didn't bother Malfoy. It worked. . . sort of.

A small, involuntary yawn escaped the light haired young man's lips as his silver eyes slowly drifted shut, an action that did not go unnoticed by a certain female Slytherin. Pansy leaned over close to him and stroked his arm softly.

"Drakie-poo, are you sleepy? Here, why don't you let me help you to your room?" she cooed in a tone she probably thought was seductive but ended up sounding like she had a bad cold.

His smoldering grey eyes popped open in horror to find her pug face disturbingly close to his own. With a loud yelp, Malfoy sat straight up and wrenched his arm out of her desperate grasp. Zabini raised a dark eyebrow in his direction, an amused smirk on his face.

Glaring around the room, Malfoy used what dignity he had left to stand up and march out of the room, without Pansy's help mind you. When he reached the door leading to the boy's dorm, he stopped with one hand on the door handle and threw a casual look over his shoulder.

Yep, they were still smirking at him. Well, Zabini was smirking. Goyle was still stuffing his face with left-over supper, and Pansy was whimpering with rejection. A scowl broke out on his face. Pansy was really starting to get on his nerves.

It was disgusting the way she threw herself at him. Whenever he wasn't there, she would then turn her sights on a very receptive Zabini. _So much for class_, Malfoy thought to himself with a very unMalfoy like snort.

He quickly walked to his room and locked the door just in case Pansy tried to follow him. The darkness of the room soothed his racing thoughts, and provided a small quantity of peace. Nothing like he had felt on the Quidditch pitch with Weaselette of course. Unable to hold it back, a small groan burst forth from his mouth.

Why was he thinking of that retched girl again? Their families hated each other. So, there was no way there could ever be anything between them. Wait. . . . where did that come from? Who said anything about them being together?

If Malfoy didn't know any better, he would say he was going clinically insane. Then again, maybe he was. Except for the small fact that Malfoys didn't go insane. Especially not over girls like the Weaselette. He shivered at the mere thought. Girls were supposed to go crazy over **him**, not the other way around.

Lighting a candle with his wand, he searched through his expensive trunk for his silk pajama pants and shirt. After reinforcing the locking charm on the door, he quickly changed and got in bed with his hands laced behind his head and his feet crossed at the ankles.

The position of his bed allowed the teenager a perfect view out of the window to the clear black of the night's sky. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, not even caring about how the others would get in with the door locked, he saw a figure fly swiftly by on a broom, as if all of Hell itself was on their heels.

The figure seemed vaguely familiar. The gracefulness and control the person had on their broom tugged at his memory. Where had he seen someone like that before? Wait a minute. The Quidditch pitch earlier! But, what was the little Weaselette doing on her broom this late at night?

This new discovery heightened his senses and he jumped out of bed. At the window in a flash, he peered out, craning his neck to see what she was doing. Muttering a simple vision enhancement charm, he took a closer look at her face and realized with a jolt that she was crying.

Why was she crying? And what was she doing out so late? On her broom no less. Soon, the girl was too far in the distance for him to see even with his enhanced vision. Sighing, he slowly strolled back to bed and laid back down, a small frown marring his perfect features.

Sleep was calling him, but he couldn't get her face out of his mind. Weaselette never cried. Not that **he** had seen anyway. She had always come off as strong and capable of holding her own against the best of them, himself included of course. Something really bad must have happened to make her feel so bad as to cry.

A few moments later, he was sleeping peacefully, dreaming of a certain girl with fiery red hair and an attitude to match. Strangely, he didn't think of her as the little Weaselette in the dream. No, he thought of her as his own dear Ginny. . . .

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So, what do yall think? Hope they were in character pretty well. Next chapter will speed things along somewhat between Draco and Ginny.


	8. Chapter 8

That morning, Ginny woke up with a horrible headache. It felt like a whole herd of angry hippogriffs were stomping around in her brain. She slowly sat up and groaned in pain. The room felt like it was spinning and her stomach was threatening to throw last night's meal.

Trying to ignore her pain, she stood up and almost fell back down again. Whimpering softly, the teenager tried again and managed to not crumple to the floor. Somehow she made her way to the bathroom with her school clothes and robe to change into.

She was already changed before she remembered that it was the weekend, and therefore there were no classes. Growling with frustration, she pulled her school uniform off and changed into a comfortable pair of jogging pants and sweat shirt. Not bothering to put her hair up, she slowly made her way downstairs where she found Ron and Harry in a heated discussion.

Curious, Ginny slowly sank to the bottom step of the stairs and listened closely. Their conversation made her whish she had simply charged into the room and not eavesdropped.

"I'm telling you, she's been acting really weird lately. I mean she's always been a little weird, but even more so now than usual. Like last night! She totally blew up at me for no reason!" Harry said, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat.

Ron shook his head slowly. "You need to tell her Harry. Trust me mate, you do not want to let this go on, and have her find out before you can explain. I've been on the receiving end of one of her bat boogey hexes. She's bloody scary when she gets mad."

Ginny frowned slightly. What did Ron want Harry to tell her? What was going on?

"I know, I know! I just can't face her yet. The way she is now, I don't know how she would react. She's always been a little. . . .I don't know. Obsessed with me? I just don't want to hurt her," Harry admitted in a low tone.

Ginny's breath caught as she heard his last comment about her being obsessed with him. She wasn't obsessed! She was in love with him! But, apparently, he didn't feel the same way about her.

She stood up silently and backed up a few steps before coming back down, making sure to be as loud as she could. "Hey Harry! Ron. What's up?" she asked brightly, a forced smile on her face. The two older boys gulped and paled considerably. "Uh. . . .nothing. Nothing at all. So, what are you doing today?" Harry asked her in a hurry. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. So, he was going to lie to her?

"Are you sure you have nothing to tell me Harry?" she asked pointedly. Harry shook is head violently, several times. Ron's eyes widened slightly. He knew better than to lie to his little sister. Harry, on the other hand, apparently didn't.

"Oh, well alright. I'm going to head to breakfast now. . . ," she replied. Now wasn't the time to kill him. Not yet. Soon though. He had his chance, and he chose to lie to her. She valued honesty above all.

After a few more seconds of strained conversation, she left the commons room and went directly to the Great Hall for breakfast. She walked with her head down the entire way, not wanting anyone to see her eyes, shiny from barely suppressed tears. What Malfoy had said at the Quidditch pitch was true. Harry was only baby-sitting her for Ron. He didn't really care about her.

Her pace increased until she was almost running. Not looking where she was going, she accidentally bumped into something big and warm, sending them both to the floor.

"Oof!" she heard from under her. Curious, she looked down at what she was laying on. Pale platinum hair and silver grey eyes stared back at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but only a soft squeak came out. Malfoy glared up at her and started trying to push her off him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry, so sorry," she rambled, hastily standing up and pulling him with her. He brought a slender hand up to rub the back of his head slowly. "Ouch," he muttered, wincing as he touched a tender spot. Ginny bit her bottom lip and looked away.

Malfoy glanced at her face and noticed tear trails running down her pale face. Her silky red hair was stuck to her wet cheek, and his hand itched to brush it away. _Whoa! Where did that come from?_ Just a few seconds ago, he was ready to hex her for knocking him over. Now, he wanted to caress her cheek?

Ginny suddenly heard footsteps behind her and turned around, only to see Ron and Harry walking up. No! She couldn't let them see her like this. Especially not with Malfoy! Making a snap decision, she quickly tugged the pale haired teenager into a shadowy alcove, where Harry and Ron wouldn't see them well enough to identify them.

Malfoy let out a soft yelp as she jerked him by his robes into the alcove. He had been jerked around too many times in the past few days for his tastes. His poor robes couldn't take all the abuse. They were expensive after all! Probably more money than the Weaselette had ever seen in her entire life actually.

Suddenly, he realized what she was doing and hastily turned towards her, so that the approaching Gryffindors wouldn't see his face and recognize him. If they saw him with the Weaselette, with her crying and all, then they were bound to jump him or something. Hmph. Talk about unfair assumptions! Thankfully, Harry and Ron merely glanced over their hidden spot in the shadows before continuing on down the hall to breakfast.

Malfoy let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Then he realized just how close he was to Ginny and his breath caught once more. They stood almost nose to nose, her hands pressing against his chest from where she had grabbed his robes.

She gasped as she looked into his smoldering grey eyes. Her brain stopped functioning as he stared down at her, a strange look on his face. Their breath mingled in the air between them. His scent overwhelmed her senses, making her feel something she had never felt before.

Before she could do something she knew she would regret, she hastily pushed him away from her and hurried on past him with her head down. Malfoy stared after her, a foreign emotion pulsing in his chest.

_What just happened?_


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks to OnMyHighHorse for word change! Love all the feedback guys :) Anyways, hope Malfoy doesn't seem a little too OOC in the chapter, but I really wanted to go ahead and do this scene.

As you can probably tell, my number one pet peeve for fanfics is OOCness, and I don't want it anywhere near my own fics lol.

Don't worry though, our two favorite people will go back to being all snarky towards one another soon enough. Well, enjoy!

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Ginny stared down at her plate, absently pushing her food around with her fork. All night long, she had dreamed of flying with someone, but she couldn't quit remember who it was. It was on the tip of her tongue. Her head started pounding again from her fierce concentration.

Harry saw her put her head in her hands and leaned over to put an arm around her shoulders. "You okay Ginny?" he whispered in her ears. She stiffened and looked up to glare at him. After everything he had told Ron, he had the nerve to ask if she was _okay_? She stood up suddenly.

"No Harry. I am **not** okay. I will not **be** okay until you start telling me the truth," she hissed in a low tone, then turned around and stormed out of the Great Hall. Harry stared at her retreating back, a confused look in his emerald eyes.

Malfoy watched her stand up and say something to The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Be-A-Pain-In-the-Neck. Suddenly, she swept out of the room, with all eyes in the hall watching her in curiosity.

_Hmm. Trouble in paradise_, he mused to himself. _Potter must be the reason the Weaselette has been crying so much lately._ Strangely, the thought didn't give him the same satisfaction that it would have only a year ago.

Ginny stormed away from the Great Hall, her appetite suddenly gone. Why did things have to be so confusing? She had always liked Harry, ever since she first saw him at the train station so many years ago. After a while though, she had started to move on with her life once she realized that Harry didn't like her that way, following Hermonie's advice.

But, during a post-match celebration after she won the Quidditch cup, she and Harry had shared a kiss. After that, they had started dating, and she had felt positively ecstatic that he was finally seeing her as more than Ron's little sister.

Then, they broke up after Dumbledore's funeral because Harry said he was worried that Voldemort would try to use her to get to him. Later on, at Harry's birthday party, he let slip that Ron, Hermonie, and himself were going off on a dangerous mission.

As a present, she had kissed him with everything she had to let him know that she would never give up on him. After the war, they had gotten back together, and Harry seemed as happy about it as she was. But now, she just didn't know anymore. Everything was so confusing.

On top of it all, she couldn't stop thinking about Malfoy. Yes, she knew he was a slimy Slytherin git, and their families hated each other. But, she had seen him without his smug sneer on his face before; when they were flying together, for instance.

He had seemed to let go of all his burdens, just like she did. As soon as they were off the pitch though, the mask slipped back in place and he started being the cruel and arrogant person that had tormented her and her family for years.

Her thoughts whirled round and round in her brain, not exactly helping her headache very much. She soon found herself at the Quidditch pitch. Not quit feeling up to flying just yet, she slowly made her way into the stands and sat down. Closing her eyes, she let the breeze play with the strands of her red hair, making them dance in the air. She felt so lonely.

Being around the Golden Trio made her feel like a tag-along all over again. Growing up, she had followed her brothers around, always wanting to be a part of their games. Of course, they didn't take too kindly to a little girl messing up their fun, so she eventually started spending most of her time by herself.

At Hogwarts, she had made a few friends, but when she found Tom Riddle's diary, she felt like she finally had someone who _really_cared about her. When she found out that he was only using her, she was devastated. Then and there, she made herself a promise to never rely on someone so fully ever again.

But, then Harry started noticing her. He made it difficult to keep her promise to herself, and she eventually broke the promise. Now, she felt empty inside. She didn't really have many friends that she cared to hang around. Luna was really nice, but Ginny couldn't have a serious conversation with her without being told about gumperfalls or flitterwicks or something. She needed someone to talk to. Someone who would actually listen and not judge her.

She was so deep into her thoughts that she didn't notice that someone had sat beside her. "So, want to talk about it?" a voice drawled from beside her. The sudden intrusion surprised her and she let out a small gasp and jumped, her eyes popping open to find a pair of slate grey orbs staring at her in amusement.

"Malfoy? What. . . .what are you doing here?" she finally managed to squeak out. He leaned back and laced his hands behind his head, long legs crossed at the ankles. The perfect picture of contentment. The breeze ruffled his soft blond hair, and his face was strangely open. "Oh, you know. I was just taking a walk and saw you here. Figured you could use someone to talk to, that's all," he replied finally, shrugging lightly as if it was no big deal.

But it was, and they both knew it. Ginny couldn't help but think of her wish earlier. The wish that she had someone to talk to. An uncertain look crossed her fair face. What if he only wanted to listen to her so that he could tell the whole school about it and make fun of her? He was Malfoy after all. Her fears must have shown, because he sighed softly.

She could see his muscles tense, and his jaw tightened slightly before he composed himself. "Look, I just thought you might want to talk. Never mind then," he muttered, getting up and starting to walk away with his shoulders hunched up a little.

"No! Wait," she said, her voice cracking slightly. He paused and turned towards her, a slender eyebrow raised. "Wait," she repeated. Malfoy slowly started walking back to her and sat down beside her again. Ginny took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. "You're right. I do want someone to talk to. I was just. . . .surprised when you volunteered," she admitted, not looking at him, but rather gazing across the field.

"I understand," he told her in a low tone. A wry smile blossomed on his pale face. "I guess I'm not exactly the person you would expect to be volunteering to hear your confessions, huh?"

Ginny laughed at that. It was true. This was a rather bizarre experience. "So, what were you thinking about?" Malfoy asked softly. The red haired teenager sighed, not knowing where to even begin. "I was just feeling a little lonely I suppose," she answered after a few seconds. He turned towards her, a confused expression on his handsome face.

"Lonely? What about Scar- I mean Potter? You know, your boyfriend," he added with a smirk. Ginny wrinkled her nose and made a face. "Ugh, don't remind me."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "What? Is there something wrong with you two?" Ginny bit her lip and looked away, not knowing what to tell him. Was there something wrong? She honestly didn't know how to answer that one.

"He's hiding something from me. I overheard him and Ron talking about it. Ron wanted Harry to go ahead and tell me something, but Harry said he didn't want me to be hurt or anything. Then, when I pointedly asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell me, he said no. That everything was fine. He lied to me! I can't believe it. Plus he called me obsessed! Ugh, that git. I don't know. . . .it's like I don't even know him anymore. When I walk into the room and try to talk to him, he gets all awkward. I feel like an outsider when I try to talk to him when he's with Ron and Hermonie. Like I'm just the Golden Trio's sidekick or something," she blurted out, unable to hold it in anymore. When she was finished, she looked away self-conscious about telling Malfoy, her worst enemy, all her secret fears.

But the laugh and cruel remark she was waiting for didn't come. She peeked a careful glance at him and was shocked to him staring at her, a strangely gentle look in his smoldering grey eyes. "I'm sorry Ginny. He doesn't deserve you," he whispered softly. Slowly, as if afraid she was going to bolt, he leaned in closer to her and his face tilted so that he was staring down into her soft chocolate brown eyes.

Ginny watched as his head dipped lower, and closed her eyes in expectation. Her breath caught as he gently lowered his lips to capture hers.

A sensation like she had never known roared through her. As if acting on its own, her body molded itself to him, and her arms lifted up to drape around his neck. He pulled her tighter against him, his hands working their way through her silky red hair. Her soft breath fanned his cheek, and his skin tingled at the feel of it.

His body was warm and firm against hers. Ginny could feel his heart beating in his chest, the erratic pulse matching her own. The kiss was pure and sweet and everything it should be. Kissing him was like kissing pure bliss. She felt at such peace with him, it was as if the rest of the world simply slipped away until only the two of them remained.

But it couldn't last.

Malfoy pulled away first, his wide eyes staring deep into her own startled ones. The tender look on his face slowly faded away, to be replaced with a coldness that frightened her. He jerked his hands out of her hair and stood up abruptly, towering above her.

Ginny simply gazed up at him in silence, too stunned to form any sort of rational thought. He deliberately turned around and stalked off without a backwards glance. The girl stared after him, one slender hand on her still tingling lips.

_What had they done?_

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Well, there you have it folks! The kiss you've all been waiting for! But don't leave yet. The story is far from over for our two little teens ;) I would say that it is just beginning, but that would be a little too cheesy don't you think?


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, so what does Malfoy think of the kiss? Well, here is his own private thoughts that aren't so private because we are reading them. . . .ahem, anyways. This chapter might seem a little angst-y, but don't worry! Things will be as mellow as a mellon in the next few chapters. Heh, always wanted to say that. . . .

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Malfoy stormed into the castle, incensed at what had happened only a few moments earlier. Why had he done that? It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense at the moment. Deep in miserable thoughts, he glanced up to find himself in the Slytherin common room without any knowledge of walking there. Muttering the password under his breath, he hastily made his way to his dorm.

Thankful that no one was in there, he locked the door and threw himself on his bed facedown. What was wrong with him? Kissing the Weaselette? Was he out of his mind? This wasn't like him. Not at all. He could still feel her lips on his, her hands playing with the tips of his hair.

_This is crazy_! He thought frantically to himself. _I can't do this! We hate each other! We always have and always will!_ _**Didn't feel like hate to me**_, a smug voice whispered in the back of his mind. _Shut up!_ He snarled, furious with himself. _Is talking to yourself the first sign of insanity?_ He mused absently.

The pale haired teenager suddenly stood up and walked over to the wall and punched it hard. The skin broke and the nerves in his hands went on a frenzy. His whole hand became numb for one horrible second and then the pain came. Nothing like what the so-called 'Dark Lord' had done to him the previous two years of course, but terrible nonetheless.

He gritted his teeth and bore the pain almost gladly. Anything to take his thoughts off _her_. She was poison to him. Nothing good would ever come of this. The thought of what his father would say made him laugh out loud. It was not a happy laugh, or even a cruel one. It was the laugh of one knowing he was on the verge of insanity and it was all because of a stupid teenage girl. A very beautiful, smart, strong, stupid teenage girl.

Life is too cruel sometimes. Oh, Malfoy can take the Dark Lord. He can take having to kill Dumbledore. He can take his father being given the Dementor's kiss. He can take his mother wasting away in her bed from depression. He can take all those things, but the one thing he **cannot** take. . . .is Ginevra Weasley.

Ginny didn't know how long she sat there, replaying the whole thing over and over in her mind. She just couldn't understand it. She had kissedMalfoy!**Malfoy!** The smell of him still lingered, exhilarating her senses. _No! I can't do this_. She had to get away from there or she would go mad.

Hurrying back to the castle with her head down, she hoped her cheeks wasn't flushed or that there was any other tell tale signs that something had happened. Not looking where she was going, she ran into someone as she was making her way down the corridor towards the Gryffindor common room. Looking up, she almost wailed as she realized who it was.

"Ginny? What are you doing? Why do you look like you've seen a boggart?" Harry asked her in a concerned tone. It became too much and she pushed past him, tears trailing down her face as she ran away from him. One look at her face and the Fat Lady opened without a word. Ginny ran up the stairs to the girl's dorm, ignoring all the stares she was receiving from the other Gryffindors in the common room.

She didn't come out from her room all day. Hermonie tried to come in and talk to her, but quickly ran back out, a few hexes smashing into the wall where she had stood. Harry started getting a little angry at Ginny's actions. _Why is she acting so unreasonable lately? I know she has a temper, but what did I do to set her off __**this**__ time? _

Monday morning, Ginny reluctantly sat up in her bed, the curtains firmly closed to give her some privacy. What was she going to do? She couldn't face them! Especially not him. . . .

What if he was telling all his friends about it? The thought horrified her and almost sent her scurrying back under the covers. But no. She was a Gryffindor! And Gryffindors do not run away from life's challenges. Especially not Ginny.

She slowly got up and pulled her clothes on numbly, her mind on distant things. After a last look in the mirror, she calmly walked down the stairs to the common room and strolled out, seemingly oblivious to all the confused stares. As she was making her way down the corridor to the Great Hall, Harry caught up to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Ginny, I have to talk to you. . . ." The red haired teenager stopped suddenly, causing Harry to stumble a little and drop his arms off her shoulders.

"I need to talk to you too Harry," she told him in a cool voice. He opened his mouth to say something, but she raised a hand to ward it off. "I just wanted to say that I'm breaking up with you. Have a good day," she finished before strolling on down the hall, leaving him standing there with his mouth hanging open.

Ginny glided into the Great Hall, carefully keeping her eyes from straying over to the Slytherin table. Ignoring the whispers, she gracefully sat down at her table and started eating her breakfast as if nothing was wrong. A few moments later, Ron stormed into the hall and sat down beside her.

"What are you thinking Ginny? Breaking up with Harry? What is going on with you? Why are you acting so unreasonable?" he demanded after pausing to take a deep breath. Ginny just continued eating her meal slowly, a carefully blank look on her face. She had observed Malfoy enough to know how to keep her emotions from showing. Ugh! There he was **again**, showing up in her thoughts at the most unexpected and inopportune times. . . .

Ron gaped at her, unable to believe that she was just ignoring him. Him! Her favorite youngest brother, _who is still older than her_, and whose name is also Ronald!

(A/N just so it's not confusing, this means that there is only _one_ brother who is _both_ the youngest boy _and_ whose name is Ronald. And he is her favorite out of the one. Just a little Ron irony for ya)

"Ginny. . . ." he started, but was forced to wait when Ginny held up a slender hand to ward off his words. After a few seconds of torture for Ron, she finally finished her meal and turned towards him.

"Ron, I am sick and tired of you and Harry trying to run my life. I am my own woman, and therefore can make whatever decisions I choose to make. You have no right to come barging in here like that, and demand a reason for me breaking up with Harry. But, I will still give you a few. One, he lied to me. Two, we just don't love each other anymore. And three, I'm tired of feeling like a third wheel to your exclusive group. The Golden Trio is called that for a reason. I just happen to not be one of the trio. Now, if you will excuse me, I have somewhere else to be," she told him calmly.

Elegantly standing up from the table, she glided out of the hall, leaving Ron standing there with his mouth still open much like Harry had been when she told him she was dumping him.

Malfoy silently watched the show from the other side of the hall. His eyes narrowed as he attempted to understand what they were saying. Muttering a quick hearing enhancement charm, he managed to hear most of her words. A thoughtful look came over his face as he watched her glide out, leaving Potter's sidekick standing there like a fish out of water.

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Just what is Harry's secret? You might find out in the next few chapters! Or not. . . .you'll just have to read and find out! Hehehe ;D

Next Chapter: More insanity of course! And, a little rulebreaking for our favorite snake and lioness! Oh, the horrors never cease. . . .


	11. Chapter 11

As promised, this chapter will focus more on humor and friendship/romance. I'm working on the outline for chapter 13 already, so hopefully my updates won't be slow from having to post as I write instead of my usual posting what I've already written. Anways, hope yall like it!

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As soon as she got far enough away from the Great Hall, Ginny started running. After a few minuets of her calves aching and her breath coming in ragged gasps, she finally slowed down and threw herself upon the soft grass. A quick glance around revealed that she had run all the way from the castle to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

A giddy laugh escaped her lips as she got up and twirled around with her arms held out to the sides. The feeling of freedom she was experiencing was simply invigorating. No more Harry, no more Ron, no more anything. Just her and the forest.

A wicked grin worked its way across her beautiful face and she swiftly pulled her slender wand out of her pocket. It didn't matter that she had classes. All that mattered was that she was free.

"_Accio broom!_" she yelled, anticipation and excitement seeping through her words. After a few seconds, her loyal broom came zooming towards her, having escaped from her room through the open window. With a cry of pure joy, she jumped on the old broom and took off, soaring high above the forest.

It didn't matter where she went, she just wanted to fly. No thoughts danced through her mind as she rocketed through the sky. It was pure bliss to her as she spiraled through a cloud, her red hair whipping around her head. She knew that she would be in major trouble for skipping classes, but she didn't care. This was more important right now.

The open sky beckoned to her, a strange but beautiful calling flowed through her veins as she looped and dived through the air. _At least I have my robe on this time_, she mused to herself with a wry smile. _Maybe this is what it feels to go insane. But it's such a good feeling, so surely it can't be all that bad? Hmm. Whoever said insanity was a bad thing anyway? _She laughed out loud, still not entirely sure she wasn't completely crazy.

The feel of the wind through her hair, the rush of adrenaline she got whenever she dived down like a bullet, and the weightlessness from freefall all combined into a breathtaking package that made her giddy. Suddenly, a figure shot by her, almost causing her to loose her balance and fall off her broom.

The sight of a head full of platinum blond hair and a wicked grin filled her with the same foreign emotion she had felt before at the Quidditch pitch. "What are you **doing** here?" she shouted out to him, the wind stealing her words away.

Malfoy simply shrugged casually before doing a loop around her. "I could ask you the same thing Weaselette. Skipping classes? How unGryffindor of you," he yelled back, smirking his signature smirk.

"Yea well, being all brave and noble all the time gets a little tiring after a while. I thought I would just take a short break you know?" she fired back at him, grinning the whole time.

The two teenagers spent the rest of the morning simply flying together, and occasionally playing a game Ginny had shown Malfoy. "Tag?" he asked her with a confused look on his handsome face. She couldn't help but chuckle at how clueless he was about a simple game like tag. Soon, the sun rose to its highest, and Ginny reluctantly yelled to him that they should be getting back.

As soon as they touched down on the Quidditch pitch, they knew they were in for an earful. McGonagall was there with Ron and Harry standing beside her, anxiety written clearly on their faces. "What in Merlin's beard do you think you are doing?" the Headmistress asked them in a terrifyingly calm voice.

Ginny sneaked a glance at Malfoy and they both started chuckling, but tried to muffle the sound behind their hands. Harry and Ron stared at the horrifying sight of Ginny and Malfoy actually laughing **with** one another instead of **at** one another.

"GINEVRA WEASLEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH **HIM**? DID HE KIDNAP YOU? TELL ME AND I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM, I TELL YOU!" Ron shouted after finally getting control of his brain back. Harry tried holding him back, but Ron swung his fists, desperately trying to hit Malfoy.

By now, Ginny was laughing so hard she had to lean on Malfoy to keep herself from falling to the ground. That just made Ron even angrier and it took McGonagall casting a knockout spell on him to keep him from attacking the pale haired teenager.

"Professor..." gasp "…me and Malfoy here..." gasp "…were just…" gasp "…having a little fun…" Ginny tried telling McGonagall between gasps of air, but she wouldn't hear of it. "Detention for three weeks! Get back to class immediately! I am very disappointed in you Ms. Weasley. I expected better," the stern old witch said in a scalding tone.

Ginny and Malfoy both hung their heads and started walking back to the castle, but couldn't help but peek at each other's faces every few seconds. That almost started another round of unquenchable giggles. However, McGonagall's next words had them turning around in horror, and all thoughts of laughing were Avada Kedavraed out of their minds.

"And no more flying for a month. I'll take these, thank you," she told them briskly before waving her wand and confiscating their beloved brooms. Ginny could hear Malfoy muttering darkly under his breath the whole way up to the castle and she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty.

"I'm sorry Malfoy. It's my fault you got your broom taken away and now have detention for three weeks," she said quietly.

He looked up and smirked at her guilty face. "Ginny, I wouldn't change a thing even if I could. That was the most fun I've ever had. Plus, it's not like you dragged me fighting tooth and nail out here. Call it turning over a new leaf if you like," he drawled, his signature arrogant smirk on his face of course. Ginny hesitantly nodded and then realized something that caused her to stop dead in her tracks.

"Hey! You called me Ginny!" But he had already walked in the castle doors and she had to run to catch up to him.

* * *

So, what do yall think? Everyone in character pretty much? Any ideas for their detentions? Thanks for all feedback guys! It really helps my writer's block :)


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks for all the feedback guys! :) Oh and the first part of my little A/N down there is important, but the rest you can just skip over if you want. Only those few people who truly understand that dentists are evil will appreciate it hehe.

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By the next day, hundreds of rumors were flying around the school about Ginny and Malfoy. Some believed that they had secretly snuck out to the Quidditch pitch to have a snogging session. Others absolutely **swore** that Malfoy had kidnapped poor Ginny and only the heroic actions of Harry and Ron saved her from his evil clutches. Most of the ones who said that had heard it from Ronald Weasley, of course. After all, if it was heard straight from the brother, then it **must** be true.

On the other hand, there were more vile rumors spreading about them, but Ginny preferred to not even think about them. A slight quiver coursed through her slender body as she involuntarily recalled what she had overheard from three older Ravenclaw girls earlier that day.

Malfoy glanced up at her and smirked at her expression. They were having to polish all the school's trophies for their first night of detention. It was already eight o'clock, and only half of the trophies had been successfully polished so that they gleamed in the moonlight shinning down through the narrow window slit.

"Thinking of those delightful rumors again, are we?" he asked her innocently. He knew exactly what was being said, and thought it quit hilarious to be honest. A thoughtful expression came over his striking features as he realized something very interesting.

Only a year or two ago and he would be pitching a fit, infuriated that his 'inferiors' actually dreamed of him and the Weaselette doing anything more than trading insults from opposite sides of the corridors together. In fact, most of those students who were fervently spreading the rumors would have been cursed into oblivion by now.

Now, he couldn't care less what people thought of him. His reputation was already ruined beyond repair. On the other hand, Ginny was receiving all the attention with less than welcoming arms. _But, she was the one who went flying in the first place. It's not my fault that people assume the worst when two former enemies spend time together,_ he reasoned to himself with another dark snicker. After all, old habits die hard. Especially the less than good ones.

Ginny glowered back at him as she scrubbed furiously at a golden Quidditch cup that was almost as tall as she was. She knew he was enjoying this, she just didn't know why. It was like, all of a sudden, he was a completely different person. His emotions went from being all warm and gooey towards her to cold and distant to buddy buddy. Who knew he was such a complex person? Hmph. Certainly not her.

They worked in silence for a while longer until Ginny couldn't' stand it anymore. "Agh! Say something already, Malfoy. It's creeping me out, you sitting there all quiet like. You're not even complaining about having to do work! It's not natural!" she ranted, throwing her hands up in the air.

Malfoy raised a slender eyebrow in amusement at her antics. "Let me get this straight. You're mad because I'm not complaining? You actually want me to start yelling and pitching a fit because I have to do work?" he asked with a superior smirk that hinted at her mental instability. Ginny growled at him and threw a nearby dirty rag at his oh so perfect hair.

He ducked just in time, and was about to make a sarcastic remark about her poor aim when he noticed the horrified look on Ginny's face. Slowly turning around, he saw just where the rag had landed. Right on Headmistress McGonagall's face.

She had apparently sneaked in to check on them to make sure they hadn't killed each other yet. After all, it was Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy. . . .

Locked in the same room. . . .

For three hours straight. . . .

With no supervision. . . .

Oh the horror!

"Ah, Professor McGonagall. Just in time to release me from my prison sentence. It is already 8:30, I believe. Can we go now?" he asked smoothly, completely ignoring Ginny's warning hiss and the Headmistress's poisonous expression.

To his utter surprise (and disappointment) McGonagall simply plucked the dirty rag off her wizened face and flung it to the side without saying a word. After a few seconds of strained silence, she finally nodded stiffly in answer to Malfoy's question. The pale haired teenager shot a smug smirk at Ginny before standing up and sauntering out the door.

"You shall come back tomorrow evening at 5:00 once again to finish the rest of the trophies," McGonagall called to his retreating back. He absently waved a slender hand in the air to show he had heard without bothering to turn around.

Ginny smiled at the weary old witch and assured her that she would make sure he came. "Thank you Ms. Weasley. You can go now too," she added, returning the smile, albeit a strained one. Ginny quickly made her way out of the room and towards the Gryffindor tower.

When she stepped through the portrait, all talking ceased and everybody stared at her. She knew what was going through their minds. Those blasted rumors!

_Ugh, don't they have anything better to do than talk about other people?_ Ginny thought to herself with a dark glare around the room at her house members. Apparently, they got the message because they hastily resumed what they had been doing before she walked in.

Ginny let out a relieved sigh and stomped up the stairs to the girl's dorms. A quick peek in revealed that she was the only one there. A small smile lit up her beautiful face. She changed into an old t-shirt and pajama pants. It was getting too close to winter time for her to wear her usual boxer shorts.

Soon it would be time for the Christmas holidays. It was too bad that Ginny would be staying at Hogwarts this year. Her parents had finally decided to take a vacation all to themselves, with none of the children along whatsoever. At first, Ginny's brothers, mainly Ron, had been indignant that their parents were leaving them to 'fend them for themselves', but after a very _persuasive_ talk from Ginny, they had reluctantly agreed.

Soon, the red head drifted off to pleasant dreams, a soft sigh of contentment escaping her pale lips. Even with everything that was going on in her life, Ginny was happy. And it was all thanks to a certain platinum blond.

Tomorrow, she would wake up grumbling and complaining about him, but deep down, she was felt just the tiniest hint of affection for the slimy Slytherin git. It was just **very** deep down. And the so-called tiniest hint was so miniscule that even **she** was dubious that it existed.

The fact that they had kissed, flown together, kissed, laughed together, kissed, and smiled at each other did not matter. Oh, and did I mention **kissed**?

Ah well. It was all for the best anyway. After all, who ever heard of a lioness and a snake falling in love? Hmph. Might as well ask for Lord Voldemort to come back from the dead again to adopt Harry as his son and they live happily ever after together!

To this day, her house mates are still wondering what made Ginevra Weasley wake up screaming in the middle of the night about Voldemort and adoption. . . .

* * *

I might not be able to get chapter 13 up tomorrow, but it will definatly be up by Monday. Just a little heads up for you.

_Okay, so who hates dentists? I do and so should you! Dentists are evil and are trying to take over the world. I mean really, what kind of person would enjoy looking into other people's mouths and extracting stuff all day? For that matter, what kind of person enjoys draining the fluids out of a person's body and fixing them up nice and pretty just to stuff them in a box and put them ten feet under. . . . bleh._

_Annnnnnyyyways, just keep that in mind the next time a person in blue scrubs and a face mask comes near you with a drill and a large grin! Oh yeah, suuure it won't hurt. . . ._

_Well, there's my little nugget of wisdom for the day! )_


	13. Chapter 13

_Sorry for making yall wait! Alright, so Harry's secret is revealed in this chapter cause I figured yall had waited long enough :) Also, Filch appears in this one, and I wasn't too sure how to do him, so he might be a little OOC or something. Sorry about that. _

To **OnMyHighHorse**: if I told you exactly what they're saying, then that would completely ruin the effect don't you think? hehe, sorry ;) Use your imagination! And thanks for all your wonderful reviews!

To **The Other Side of Sanity**: Thanks for review! Again, sorry for making yall wait

_Another thing, I'm gonna have to update every other day instead of every day. I've been put on babysitting duty, so I won't be able to work as much. That means that I won't be able to update until Wednesday instead of tomorrow. Just a little heads up. __Anyways, enjoy chapter 13! :)_

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Ginny squinted her chocolate brown eyes against the intrusive glare of light streaming from the window slit in the wall and grumbled something about adoption again. The other sixth year girls exchanged half amused and half exasperated glances with one another at the sight of Ginny rolling over in her bed and snuggling back under the covers.

One of the girls suddenly darted forward and snatched the covers off the red haired girl's bed with a soft giggle. The intense intrusion of draftiness shocked Ginny into consciousness. "Hey, what was that for?" she demanded as she grudgingly sat up and swung her pajama clad legs over the side of the bed with a wide yawn.

Hailey Anderson rolled her sapphire blue eyes at her friend. "It's almost time for breakfast, Ginny! Come on, you don't want to miss it. You know how much of a grouch you can be when you go without your food," the blond teased with a friendly grin.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Ginny nodded drowsily and slowly put her uniform on. Between Quidditch practices (the only time she could fly, unfortunately), homework, helping out Professor Flitwick, and working off her detentions with Malfoy, Ginny was feeling the toll of too much to do in too little time.

A few minutes later, all the girls found themselves sitting at the Gryffindor table with their house mates. Ginny casually glanced around the table and was curious at the fact that Harry was not there yet. _Oh well._ _Maybe he just slept in or something_, she thought to herself with an unconcerned shrug. After all, he wasn't her problem anymore. A fact that she was very glad for.

The delicious smell of blueberry pancakes drifted up from her golden plate, tossing all thoughts of Harry out of her mind. She hungrily licked her lips before tucking in. _Mmmhhh. Soooooo good._

After she was done eating, Ginny glanced down for her bag, but didn't see it anywhere. _Where did I leave it now? Hmm. Was it in my room?_ she mused, pursing her lips in thought. She finally shrugged before standing up and heading back to the Gryffindor tower to search the girl's dorms for her book bag.

When she stepped through the portrait and into the Gryffindor common room, the sight that greeted her almost made her laugh out loud at the sheer repulsiveness.

Harry and Cho Chang were sitting on the couch, practically sucking each other's faces off. _Hmm, that couch seems to be getting a lot of action these days_, Ginny mused to herself with a grin. Something occurred to the red haired teenager, and the past few days suddenly made sense.

The other day Ginny had overheard a group of fourth year Hufflepuff girls gossiping about Cho Chang finally getting her boyfriend back. They must have been talking about Harry.

She didn't know who to sympathize with more. Cho for getting stuck with clueless Harry or Harry for getting stuck with crybaby Cho.

Now that she was thinking about strange behavior, she remembered how Harry had been acting towards her since school started, all awkward like. Then there was the conversation she had overheard between Ron and Harry almost a week ago. It all clicked. _This was Harry's big secret? He wanted to break up with me so he could get with Chang again?_

To be honest, Ginny was slightly disappointed. Not that Harry had wanted to dump her. No, that was a mutual sentiment. The thing that disappointed her the most was the fact that he didn't have a better secret. Like, that he was secretly in love with his imaginary friend or something. Now **that** would have been a little disturbing. _Ah well, life certainly has gotten duller when it comes to Harry_, Ginny thought with a light shrug.

She must have made some sort of noise, because Harry and Cho suddenly broke apart, gasping for breath. Or maybe it was just the fact that they had been under for five whole minutes with no air. Yeah, that might have something to do with it.

Harry glanced up and saw Ginny standing there doing her best not to burst out laughing. He misinterpreted her quivering form as being distressed and half stood up to comfort her. The effort to hold it in became too much, and the dam broke. Ginny leaned against the wall, laughing her head off, causing Cho to turn her nose up at her in disgust.

"Come on, Harry. Let's go somewhere more private," she told him pointedly glaring at Ginny. Harry glanced from Ginny to Cho and back again. "Umm," he mumbled. Shaking her head in amusement and still chuckling, the red haired teenager stumbled past the dumbfounded couple and up the stairs to the girl's dorms to retrieve her bag. Coming back down, she had to wipe a few tears of mirth from her eyes again.

Later that day, Ginny found herself once again staying late to help Professor Flitwick put together a lesson plan for the first years for the next day. "So, if they're studying the Wingardium Leviosa spell, then why don't you have them to see if they can move the feather from here and into the hat? The ones who perform the spell the best could get a night free of homework," she suggested with a smile at the short teacher.

He twirled a long finger in his mustache before exclaiming in surprise. "Why that's perfect! This will give them the perfect incentive to practice their spellwork. Well done Ms. Weasley, your help has certainly been invaluable this year!" Flitwick squeaked out from his spot atop a large stack of books behind his desk.

Ginny merely shook her head. "It's been really fun working for you. I'm glad you picked me," she replied with a charming grin. Soon, they were finished with all the lesson plans, and Flitwick was waving goodbye to the young woman. "Thank you Ms. Weasley!" he piped up as she was walking through the door. After a final wave, the teenager glided out of the room and on down the hall to Filch's office, a gloomy grimace appearing on her face.

It was only her fifth night of detention, but she was already feeling the strain. Staying late helping Flitwick, and then going straight to three hours of detention was wearing her out. Plus, she still had to finish an essay for Professor Slughorn for Potions class. Honestly, a three foot essay with Christmas break only a week away? Who was going to be thinking about salamander hearts and troll eyes at this time?

Ginny was really looking forward to the Christmas break because it meant that she didn't have to do any detentions for two whole weeks. Of course, as soon as the holiday break was over, she had to finish working the rest of her detentions off, but Ginny didn't exactly care to dwell on that fact right now. Her day to day life was depressing as it was.

Another benefit of the holiday break was the fact that she wouldn't have to see a certain blond teenager every evening for two whole weeks. She _could_ label that under the no detention part, but not seeing him for that long was just too good of a thing that she simply **had** to think of it as a completely different benefit. Ah, the joys of Ginevra Weasley's mind.

And speaking of platinum blonds. . . .

Malfoy was already waiting for her outside of Filch's office, a bored look on his striking face. He pushed off from the wall he had been leaning on and unfolded his sinewy arms. "About time you got here," he drawled. The young man arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the irate glower she shot him in response to his comment.

"Ohh, touchy are we? What's got your knickers in a twist?" he asked, leaning in close to peer at her. "Bug off Malfoy," she snapped, roughly pushing past him to pound on Filch's door.

The door was yanked open revealing a shriveled old man bent nearly double with age. A small, scraggly cat poked its head around the door and hissed threateningly at the two students. Filch bent down, his joints creaking dangerously, and patted the ugly cat gently on the head.

"It's alright Mrs. Norris. I won't let these miscreants hurt you. Nooo, no I won't," he cooed soothingly to the cat, who still eyed Ginny and Malfoy with narrowed eyes. "More likely that she would hurt _us_," Malfoy muttered under his breath to Ginny who barely managed to suppress a smile.

Filch straightened up with some difficulty and glared at the two teenagers. "In the good ole days, the Headmaster was strict on misbehavior. Let me tie 'em up by their toes, he did. These days, kids get by with anything. No punishment whatsoever," he croaked as he reluctantly let them into his precious office. "The detention slips are there. Sort 'em and file 'em," he growled at them before shuffling off to do his rounds with Mrs. Norris.

Malfoy and Ginny exchanged a glance before bursting into low snickers. "Shouldn't that cat be dead by now?" Malfoy complained with a scowl towards the closed door that the odd couple had just walked through. Ginny snorted in response to his comment.

"You wish," she replied, gracefully sinking to the floor to start on filing all the detention slips. Malfoy rolled his silver eyes at her. "Me and the rest of the school," he muttered under his breath before reluctantly joining her on the floor.

"You know Malfoy, only a year ago you would have been pitching a fit about having to do actual work. The whole, Malfoys don't do house-elf jobs thing," she commented casually, keeping her brown eyes on the slips in front of her.

Malfoy glanced up at her and a vaguely amused expression flitted across his pale face before he composed himself. Those were almost his exact thoughts on their first night of detention when they had been forced to clean all of the trophies. It was scary how similar their minds worked.

"The war changed everyone I guess," he replied carefully, remembering that her brother Fred had been killed during the war.

There was silence once more for a little while before Ginny finally replied. "I guess you're right," she whispered softly. They both looked up at the same time and simply gazed into each other's eyes as if trying to read their soul. Malfoy was the first to break away, jerking his silver eyes back to the detention slips on the floor in front of him.

"Enough talk. I don't fancy having to come back tomorrow night to finish this," he said sharply with a dark glare, pointedly ignoring Ginny's soft sigh of disappointment at his abrupt subject change.

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So, what yall think?


	14. Chapter 14

_This is sort of a filler chapter, not any really exciting developments in it. I'm really looking forward to the next two chapters though. Friday will be the next update, so be sure to get on here then :)_

_Thanks to the following for your reviews!_

**Pimberlee**, my first reviewer!

**marinka**

**OnMyHighHorse**, for most reviews :)

The three guests

and **The Other Side of Sanity**

_Thanks guys! Really appreciate it ;)_

* * *

Days passed, and the weather turned bitterly cold. Everywhere students looked, snow blanketed the ground, giving the school and the surrounding regions a strangely youthful look. Ginny glanced out the window in the Transfiguration classroom to the howling winds outside.

It seemed as if a blizzard had made Hogwarts its permanent residence. Once again, the crimson haired teenager was thankful that all the castle's windows had been charmed to keep out the snow and cold. A shiver coursed through her and she snuggled further into her thick robes.

The sudden slamming of a heavy book on her desk caused Ginny to jump in her chair and jerk her gaze away from the window. Professor McGonagall stood in front of her desk, a reproving look in her stern eyes.

"Would it be too much trouble, Ms. Weasley, for you to actually pay attention in my class? I'm terribly sorry if I'm wasting your time. If you do not feel that you need this class, please remember that you are free to leave anytime you wish," she said in a piercing tone.

Ginny knew that the older witch was merely being cynical, and if she did try to leave, then McGonagall would drown her in detentions before she could say 'oops'. The teenager was already up to her eyeballs in them, so she was not looking any more to add on to her total.

The other students in the class were deathly silent, not daring to make a peep in fear of the older witch's wrath. The bravest ones attempted a smirk, but hastily wiped it off when McGonagall turned her glare on them.

Ginny meekly apologized, silently cursing herself for getting into so much trouble this early in the year. The rest of the class time, she forced herself to pay attention to Professor McGonagall. Honestly though, who cares about learning how to turn matchboxes into mice and back again? Just how would that help Ginny in life? Exactly. _It wouldn't._

As soon as the bell rang, all the students scrambled to collect their things and get out of range of the terrifying professor. Ginny was trying to make her way through the crowd and to her next class when McGonagall called her back. She reluctantly turned around and trudged to the front of the room. "Yes Professor?" she asked cautiously. She knew exactly what McGonagall wanted to talk about.

The older witch merely gazed at her from behind the desk, her hands folded elegantly on top of the hardwood table. The intensity of the stare made Ginny fidget, the heavy books almost sliding out of her hands. When the witch finally spoke, she did so in a tone so soft that Ginny had to strain to catch all her words.

"Ms. Weasley, I've noticed that this year you have been much more absentminded, not to mention reckless," she added, hinting at Ginny's decision to skip classes in favor of going flying with Malfoy. The older witch's lips pressed into a thin white line, showing her disapproval of such an action.

The reminder of that fateful day made Ginny wince. It was bad enough having to spend every evening with him, but for McGonagall to bring it up again? Now, that was just cruel!

"If there is something bothering you, I wish you would talk to someone about it. I'm here all the time, and I hope you feel like you can speak frankly with me," McGonagall continued in a questioning tone.

She knew that something was wrong with the young woman, but she just didn't know what. Yes, her brother had been killed, but surely that wasn't still affecting her **this** badly. Whatever it was, she truly hoped that the girl would talk to someone that would listen and understand her.

Ginny averted her brown eyes and chewed her lower lip in thought. There wasn't anything wrong with her. Sure, she was more distracted lately, and her temper had grown, if that was even possible. But, surely that was just left over emotion from the war and pressure from all her schoolwork.

It wasn't like a certain someone was on her mind all the time. Nope, Ginny was defiantly not thinking of the snarky git. Not at all.

A phrase she had heard once drifted through her mind at that point. She wasn't sure of the exact words, but she remembered the gist of it.

_Me thinks doth protest too much._

"Professor, thank you for caring, but I'm fine. Honestly! I'm just a little tired that's all," Ginny assured her teacher with an overly bright smile. McGonagall didn't look convinced, but finally let her go to her next class with a signed note explaining why she was late.


	15. Chapter 15

Alrighty, so here's chapter 15! Hope yall like it, it was really fun to write :)

To Guest on chapter 5: I know right! Good luck! Who knows, maybe we'll be able to take over the world with the ability to smack guys in the face with our ponytails! Mwhahahah! Eh, or not hehe ;)

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"YOU'RE WHAT?"

Malfoy glanced over at Ginny and almost laughed out loud at her horrified expression. If he hadn't had a reputation to uphold, he might have let it loose.

What was the reason for her outburst, you ask? Well, he had just unwittingly confessed that he was not, in fact, going home for Christmas. Instead, he was staying at Hogwarts during the holidays for the first time.

The blond teenager had no idea how she had weaseled the information out of him. _Ahh, what a perfect description for the Weaselette_, he thought with an almost fond smile.

Wait, what? Him? Fond of the Weaselette? Definitely not! That was simply absurd. Why in Salazar's name was he acting like this around her? It had become more and more noticeable over the past few days. No longer would he make snarky remarks about how ugly she was (a total lie now). She honestly didn't know how beautiful she was. He smirked to himself in amusement.

Not that he was about to inform her. That was definitely not in his job description. _Although it might be interesting to see how she would react._ _Hmm. . . ._

As for making fun of her for her lack of money, well that simply was not an option anymore, just like with her supposedly being ugly. Her idiotic father had apparently been promoted and now made a lot more money. It was sort of funny how the world worked.

While the Malfoy name was being dragged through the mud, and he loosing everything because of it, the Weasley name was being praised right alongside that blasted Boy-Who-Just-Wouldn't-Die-Like-A-Normal-Person. But did he say anything about it? No, but only because he had more dignity than that. At least, that was what he told himself.

Nor did he mention anything about her older brother Fred. Only a short time ago, he would have been reveling in the ability to make her run crying out of the room with a single comment from him. Now, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. The words were there, but something always held him back. The only excuse he could come up with was that he was loosing his touch.

A strangled screech brought his thoughts back to the teenage girl in front of him. "Yes, I am staying here at Hogwarts. Is there a problem with your vocal cords?" he asked innocently. Ginny's face contorted as she struggled with holding back an infuriated scream.

She had been waiting for Christmas break ever since she had started having detention with the stupid git. Now, she found out that **he** would be here too. Why was fate so cruel to her?

Ginny merely glowered at him instead of replying, and went back to staring out of the window with her arms crossed stubbornly, muttering darkly under her breath. Since it was the day before Christmas break (and the professors had run out of things for the two teenagers to do), they were forced to spend three hours in an empty classroom for their detention. Every now and then, a professor would pop in to make sure they weren't at each other's throats.

Malfoy allowed himself a satisfied grin when she wasn't looking. _Ah, yes. It is good to know that I can still get under her skin at least_, he thought with a content sigh. It was a little game they played. And right now, Malfoy was most definitely winning.

The hours went slowly for poor Ginny. It seemed almost as if time itself was on Malfoy's side. If things kept going this way, he would win their little game of wills. Now, we all know how competitive Ginevra Weasley is. She was not about to loose. Even if it was just a simple game of wills as she so aptly put it.

Ginny pointedly ignored Malfoy's bored mumblings and simply stared out of the window to the forest beyond. She was determined to win this round by not giving in to his attempts at conversation. Even if she was about to go crazy from the silence and inactivity, just like he was.

Malfoy watched her with narrowed eyes as she fidgeted in her chair a few times, and that was when he knew that she was at the breaking point. It was time to make his move.

"Soooo. . . .what's your favorite color?" he asked in a carefully bored tone, slouching back in the chair and carefully tipping it up so that he was balancing on the two back legs with his hands laced behind his head.

At the sound of his voice, Ginny started, clearly not expecting him to ask something like that. She stared at him with narrowed eyes much like he had done to her a few seconds ago. Most people would have heard his statement and just thought that he was merely asking her a random question out of boredom.

But, Ginny **knew** Malfoy. He would _never_ ask a _random_ question. _**Everything has a purpose. Everyone has a hidden motive**_. She had learned that in her first year from Tom Riddle himself.

Malfoy waited patiently for her reply. He saw a cloud pass over her face and tilted his head to the side in thought. If it had been anyone else, they would have answered after only a few seconds, albeit maybe in a terrified or suspicious tone depending on who it was.

_**But, this isn't just anyone. It's the Weaselette. She's one of a kind and you know it**_, a voice whispered from the back of his mind smugly. _Oh, shut up already_, he snarled silently. What was it with him and voices in his head?

"White."

Malfoy jerked his thoughts back to the present and stared at Ginny in confusion. "My favorite color is white," she repeated slowly. He raised an eyebrow at the odd answer. "Most people would say red, blue, or even the best one, green," he told her with a bemused smirk. Shrugging, she debated on how to explain.

"Well, white reminds me of snow, pure and innocent. Snow is beautiful when no one is around to soil it. But, once you step foot in it, it becomes dirty and stained. No one likes dirty or stained things. But, when you find that _one _place in the snow that is _perfectly_ white, then you know that there is still some good in the world. Even if everything is going completely wrong with your life, you can still look at the pure white of the snow and know that things will turn out okay. You just have to stay strong," she whispered softly, a distant look in her chocolate brown eyes as if she was remembering something.

He gazed at her silently, taking in everything she had said. What was it about her that drew him? She was good and he was evil, no question. In all the fairytales, the beautiful princess always ended up with the knight in shining armor and they rode away into the sunset on his white horse. Not once did the princess fall in love with the dragon keeping her prisoner.

"So, what about you?" she asked after a few moments of comfortable silence. "Brown. Like your eyes," he answered absently, not even thinking about what he said. He was lost deep within his thoughts and didn't notice the effect his words had on her.

Ginny stared at him, a confused look her eyes. _What did he mean by that?_ A shy blush worked its way across her fair face. All too soon, her whole face was practically the color of her hair, she was blushing so bad. The worst part, however, was the fact that she had no idea why she was blushing. Just as she was about to open her mouth to demand an explanation of his surprising answer, the door opened and McGonagall glided in.

"Your detention time is over for today," was all that she said before turning and walking back out of the room. Malfoy and Ginny exchanged mystified glances at the Headmistress's odd behavior. Finally, they just shrugged and headed for their respective common rooms.

As she was walking down the corridor towards the Gryffindor tower, she heard something that would keep her up all night long pondering the meaning.

"Don't choose the knight."

Ginny turned around to ask him what he was talking about, but the confusing young man was already gone.

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So, how was it? Comments, thoughts, prayer requests, pleas of insanity? Hehe just a little inside joke from my history teacher ;)

**Just wanted to say thanks to OnMyHighHorse for telling me about how I've been misspelling definitely! I went back through here changing it, and I think I corrected them all. If not, tell me and I'll go look at it again. Thanks sooo much! Because I've been having to post as I write, I haven't had as much time to read over the chapters as I would like, so mistakes are more common than usual. I'll try to look over the future ones better :) Again (because you can never say thank you enough lol) thanks for bringing it to my attention! See, I do read all those reviews! ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

_Sorry bout the wait. I've had writer's block the past two days, but I finally think this chapter is done _:)

Thanks to **ToDecember** for review!

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Ginny gazed at all the presents waiting to be unwrapped with a content smile. It was Christmas morning, and presents littered the floor of the Gryffindor common room for all the students who stayed at Hogwarts instead of going home for the holidays.

"Blimey Ginny! Mum sent you a _whole box_ of truffles with your sweater, but I didn't get a single one! Goes to show you who she favors," Ron grumbled darkly to her from his spot on the couch. He glared down at the offending box of chocolates that their mother had sent Ginny, but forgot to send him.

"Here, you can have one or two," Ginny offered reluctantly, watching longingly as her gluttonous brother gobbled up half the box in one bite. It was hard having to live with six older brothers who constantly ate carriage loads of food every hour.

When they ran out of food to devour, they became unbearably difficult to get along with. As such, Ginny was forced to share her precious chocolates more than she wished. Small price to pay, however, for peace. Well, as much peace as one could get with six older brothers.

The heavy pounding of feet on the boy's stairs alerted Ginny to the fact that Harry was coming down finally. Ron had tried to wake him up earlier (6:00 a.m.), but the dark haired teenager had threatened him with sneaking puke flavored Ever Flavor Beans into his breakfast if he didn't let him sleep in a few more minutes. Needless to say, Ron had left him to his beauty sleep.

Harry stumbled through the door, rubbing sleep out of his emerald green eyes, and saw Ginny sitting there. He hesitated, unsure of how her reaction to him would be, but the girl simply waved at him before turning back to Ron and snatching her box of truffles out of his hands.

"Hey! You said you would share!" Ron protested, reaching again for the delicious chocolates, but Ginny slapped his hands away and held the box to her chest possessively. "I said you could have one or two, not the whole box!" she replied with a dirty look at his chocolate stained hands.

Harry allowed a small grin to break out on his handsome face at the sight of the two arguing siblings. It was good to know that everything was back to normal with them. The only thing missing was Hermonie, but she wanted to spend Christmas with her parents. With the help of the Ministry of Magic, she had finally been able to track them down and reverse the Obliviate spell she had been forced to place them under.

The three friends eagerly started ripping the rest of their presents open. Ginny ended up with a brand new Nimbus 2000 from her parents, courtesy of her father's promotion at the ministry in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department, along with the usual sweater and truffles.

Hermonie had given Ginny a new book on Quidditch techniques for Chasers before she left for her parent's house, while George had somehow sneaked his latest invention in for her. _Hmm, that could come in handy_, Ginny thought to herself with a devious smile as she inspected the innocent looking box.

Charlie had written her a long letter describing his adventures in Romania and owled it to her along with a huge bag of Every Flavor Beans. Bill and Fleur sent her a new skin care potion (obviously Fleur picked it out), and Percy had owled her a letter saying simply 'Merry Christmas'. Even though Ginny had forgiven him during the Final Battle, things were still strained between him and the family.

After all the presents had been opened, they headed down to breakfast together, laughing and having a good time. Ginny was determined that there would be no awkwardness between her and Harry because of the breakup.

She considered him like another older brother now really. Hermonie had agreed with her that it would be best to try to stay close friends with him seeing as her actual brother was his best friend and Hermonie herself was friends with both of them. Besides, she had known Harry way too long to willingly throw away their friendship just because of some silly breakup.

Once in the Great Hall, Ginny gazed around with a wide, appreciative grin. Hagrid had once again picked the largest tree possible. Slender candles were charmed to burn continually on the tree, and the whole room was aglow with a cozy, golden light.

The professors were already seated at the High Table, merrily chatting and eating. Few students had decided to stay, but the few that did were busy boasting about their presents to their friends. All in all, it was a very touching affair that warmed Ginny's heart.

For a moment, she just stood there with her eyes closed, savoring the feeling of complete peace and happiness.

_It lasted all of two seconds. _

"Hey, Weaselette, if you're going to stand there like an idiot, then do it somewhere else. You're in the way," a familiar voice snapped from behind her. Reality crashed in on her like as she turned around and stared defiantly up at Malfoy, her hands on her hips. "Good morning to you too, Malfoy. What did you get for Christmas?" she asked him with a firmly cheerful smile.

He was not about to ruin her holiday just because he was in a bad mood. In fact, she was now determined to get him in the Christmas spirit, too!

A grunt was her only reply as he pushed past her and headed for the empty Slytherin table. But, she wasn't about to give up that easily. Ignoring the disbelieving stares from the students and staff alike, Ginny silently followed Malfoy to the serpent table. She plumped down on the seat beside him, causing him to jerk in surprise and turn around to glare at her.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked icily. A few years ago, she would have been frozen with terror at his tone and look, but now she knew the **real** him. And it wasn't scary at all. In fact, it was kind of sweet.

If you looked at it the right way. . . .

And if you have a lot of chocolate to soften him up!

"Sorry Malfoy, but you don't scare me anymore. Underneath all that invisible armor, you're human just like the rest of us. You have a heart. Okay, so it _might_ be shriveled from lack of use, but it's there!" she insisted with another bright smile that made his teeth ache from the sweetness. Merlin's beard, what was it with her? She was far too cheerful for this early. Matter of fact, she was too cheerful for any time of the day.

That was until he noticed the box of truffles she pulled out from seemingly no where. His mouth watered as the delicious smell of chocolate hit his scent glands. There had not been any sweet candy from home this year. Not with his mother still recuperating from depression at St. Mungos and his father. . . .well. . . .

_I don't __**have**__ a father anymore. Remember? No use going on about it, _he thought to himself stiffly.

"Okay, so what do you want for the truffles?" he asked brusquely with narrow eyes trained on the wonderful box that would take his mind off his dysfunctional home life, if only for a moment.

Ginny waved the truffles under his nose one more time before snatching it away to safety. "I only ask two things. One, that you admit that you actually have a heart," she replied with a very Malfoy-like smirk. He growled at her in frustration before the smell hit him again.

"Okay okay! I have a heart. Now, what's the second thing?" he asked warily, keeping a careful eye on the box of truffles. A soft laugh brought his gaze back to her, and his heart (yes, he did have one, unfortunately) skipped a beat.

Her fair skin glowed with an inner light, radiant eyes shinning from under a fiery mane of red hair cascading down her back, and the expression on her face could only be described as impish. It gave her an aura of mischief and magic. He shook his head in exasperation at his own thoughts. Of course she looked magical. She was a witch for Salazar's sake!

"The second condition is. . . ."

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_So, what do yall think the second condition should be? I have an idea for the last few chapters, but I'm working on the in-between part :P so any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks guys! _:)


	17. Chapter 17

_Alrighty, so what's the mysterious second condition? Well, read and you might find out! :) And thanks for the ideas OnMyHighHorse! Oh and, who here has ever had an argument with yourself? Well, Malfoy is about to find out what it's like heh ;)_

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Ginny leaned in closer to him, enjoying the suspicion lurking in his silver eyes. "The second condition is. . ." she repeated, grinning at his obvious impatience. Just as she was about to tell him, Ron and Harry stormed up to her with angry frowns. "What's going on Ginny? Is he bothering you?" Harry demanded with a venomous glare towards the platinum blond.

"Actually _she_ is the one bothering _me_," Malfoy snapped back with another dark look at the girl in question. "It's fine guys. Let's go," Ginny said with an innocent smile as she stood up from the table, box of truffles firmly in hand. The two Gryffindor males exchanged unconvinced glances but obeyed the younger girl like the good little watchdogs they were.

Before leaving to join her friends at the Gryffindor table, Ginny leaned in close to him, stands of her silky red hair tickling his cheek. "Meet me by the lake at 10:00 if you want to know the second condition," she whispered softly, her soft lips much too close to his ear for his comfort.

An involuntary flush drifted up his slender neck as he watched her saunter back to the Gryffindor table with her two lapdogs. _Well, that was certainly an interesting way to start the morning_, he mused dryly.

**Later that morning…**

"Where the heck is she?" he growled to himself as he stood by the edge of the lake, gloved hands tucked firmly into his deep pockets. Hunching up his shoulders so that the top of his black robes covered his neck more, the platinum blond waited miserably for Ginny.

"Blasted woman! She's going to be the death of me if she doesn't show up soon. And she better have those truffles with her!" he ground out with chattering teeth, his breath crystallizing in the air in front of him. Malfoy shuffled his frozen feet again and glanced around to see if she had finally made it.

_I am a complete __**idiot**__ for coming out here in this weather just for some stupid chocolate_s, he thought with a sigh, mentally cursing himself for his foolish actions. Snow drifted down and landed on the back of his exposed neck, causing him to reach up and swat it away with a hiss before it melted and ran down his back.

This was the reason he hated winter. It reminded him of all those cold, miserable nights spent in the dungeons after failing to complete his mission in his sixth year. _If Potter hadn't put _Him_ ten feet under already, I might be tempted to do _Him_ in myself_, he thought bitterly. 'Him' referring to Lord Voldemort, of course. Another shiver coursed through him, and not because of the cold this time.

Malfoy jerked his head around again, desperately searching for a familiar head full of dark red hair in an ocean of whiteness. A low moan burst from his mouth as his legs started tingling from numbness. After a few more moments of waiting, he finally admitted to himself that she wasn't showing up. For some reason that fact made him feel abandoned, somehow. Pathetic!

_**Get a hold of yourself Draco! Why do you care if she doesn't show up?**_

_I don't care! I only want those blasted truffles!_

_**Suuuure you do. It's not like you actually LIKE her and the truffles are a just convenient excuse to meet her. **_

_Of course not! She's the Weaselette for Salazar's sake! That's plain disgusting! I'm only here for the chocolates! Now shut up and leave me alone. . . ._

_**You're telling yourself to leave you alone? Yeah, that isn't strange at all. . . .**_

Malfoy emitted a loud groan again and tilted his head back, taking deep, calming breaths. _Great, now I'm having arguments with myself. Hmph. See what that girl is doing to me? This is all her fault!_ _I just wish she would hurry up and get here. . . . For the chocolates of course. _

A few minutes later…

_I guess she isn't going to show. . . .oh well no big deal. I mean, I can always corner her back at the castle and take the chocolates myself. I would be taking what was rightfully mine. It wouldn't be stealing at all! Well. . . .maybe I'll wait a few more minutes. . . ._

A couple of seconds go by…

_AND I DON'T LIKE HER!_

_**Just keep telling yourself that buddy**. **Maybe one day you'll actually be able to convince yourself.**_

_AGH! Shut up! _

As he was turning around to walk back to the safe warmth of the castle, ignoring that annoying little voice inside his head (One time he had heard someone call it a 'conscience'. Whatever _that _was. . . .), the sound of feet crunching on the snow had him whirling around, blindly hoping that it was her.

Ginny ran down to the lakeside, her breath coming in gasps and a stitch in her side. Stupid brothers! Ron had kept her back in the common room, lecturing her about being seen with a certain Slytherin. She had finally blown up and yelled back at him that her life was her own and he could go talk to someone who actually cared. Like his **girlfriend**, Hermonie, for instance.

The older girl had confessed to Ginny that Ron had not been paying very much attention to her lately, so of course Ginny had gotten angry at her stupid, idiotic git of a brother and decided to do something about it. Whether or not he actually understood what she was trying to tell him, however, was something she could not guarantee.

_It's up to 'Monie now_, she thought with a sad smile. That was one relationship that Ginny was determined that would work out.

Shielding her eyes with a gloved hand, she desperately gazed around for a familiar head of platinum blond hair. There! Squinting her eyes against the blinding snow, she caught sight of Malfoy looking around and opened her mouth to yell for him, but nothing came out.

He slowly turned around and started trudging back up to the castle, apparently thinking that she wasn't going to show up. Running faster, she desperately tried to call out again, not wanting to have to search for him all through the castle.

"Hey Ferret Boy! Wait up!" she finally called out, her voice suddenly operational again. He stopped so abruptly and whirled around, that she was unable to stop in time and barreled straight into him. The momentum sent them both crashing to the ground, melted snow slowly seeping into their robes.

"What is it with you and trying to murder me?" Malfoy groaned out as he sat up and tentatively rubbed the back of his snow covered head. Ginny grinned up at him from her spot on the ground beside him. "Oh come on Malfoy. It's a beautiful day! Oh, I know! Let's make snow angels!" she said, still grinning that scary grin.

_She's a bloody lunatic if she calls __**this**__ a beautiful da_y, he thought sourly_,_ glancing around with raised eyebrows at the 'blizzard' they were caught in.

"And just what are Snow Angels?" the platinum blond asked reluctantly, a wary expression on his pale face. With a heartfelt laugh, she dragged him back down to the ground and demonstrated how she moved her arms and legs to make a snow angel.

It took some convincing, but he finally decided to give it a try. "So, you just lay here and move your arms up and down and your legs side to side?" he asked dubiously. Why was he even bothering with such a frivolous activity? For the chocolates of course! Only for the chocolates. . . .

**Several minutes later. . . .**

Malfoy reached down a hand to help her up from her snow angel, a smirk on his face and a dare in his eyes. She grabbed his gloved hand and he pulled her up from the ground. . . .and straight into his arms. Both flushed from the close proximity, but neither moved away. Ginny stared up into his silver eyes as her heart beat out an uneven tune. She watched as he slowly leaned his head down and closed her eyes in expectation.

But, Malfoy hesitated right before kissing her as something held him back. In the distance, a gaggle of third years let out laughs of excitement as they headed down to Hogsmead. Releasing a pent up sigh of frustration, he simply rested his forehead against hers before letting her go and stepping back. Ginny lowered her eyes in disappointment, and caught sight of the snow angels.

She stared down at the first one with wide eyes. Two perfect wings, the perfect flowing dress, and a perfectly shaped head. It was the best snow angel she had ever seen! Ginny sent a proud grin over her shoulder to him before turning back to **her** snow angel.

One wing went higher than the other somehow, snow bunched up in places along her dress, and the head. . . .well, she had never been very good at staying still. At least there weren't any hand and feet impressions in the dress from having to pick herself up.

At the memory of how perfectly she had fit into his strong arms and how they had almost kissed, she blushed fiercely again. "Well, I think we know who the winner is," she called to him without turning around, trying to hide her flaming face for as long as she could.

Silence was the only reply. Frowning, she turned around despite her red face, but he wasn't there! _Where did he go? Did he just leave?_

Suddenly, a snowball came sailing through the air, headed straight for her. All she could do was close her eyes and wait for impact. Malfoy grinned wickedly from his hidden fortress of snow at the sight of white particles crusting her entire face.

If she wanted to have fun in the snow, then who was he to keep her from it? Besides, it was payback from making him get out in this ghastly blizzard. It was merely an unexpected bonus that he could admire her from a distance without her knowing. Ahh, the wonders of Malfoy logic.

"You going to just there like a helpless damsel in distress or are you going to fight back, Weasley?" he yelled, tossing more snowballs at her with one arm while the other held his extra ammunition.

Ginny narrowed her brown eyes in the direction the voice and snowballs were coming from. _So, that's how he wants to play it huh? Well, little Ferret Boy is about to get one heck of a lesson in Snowball Fighting 101 from none other than the reigning champion herself, _she thought with a smirk as she bent down to gather snow for her own snowballs.

Not once did she pause to think about how much he had changed since the beginning of the year. How much they had **both **changed.

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_Don't worry, that wasn't the second condition, so plenty of time for that kiss later ;) I wanted Malfoy to be a little more lighthearted in theis chapter, but not too much. Any thoughts on what happened or what you think should happen in future chapters? All feedback greatly appreciated! _

_Another thing, I won't be able to update for a few days. Sosososososo sorry! I thinking that there might be around five more chapters give or take. I'll be working hard on finishing writting them, but i won't be able to update. :P Again, so sorry!_


	18. Chapter 18

_Sorry it's been so long! Between having to go to the dentist and being sick, the only way I've survived is to write! So, my misery is your joy. Ahh, isnt life grand? _

Thanks to **ingsception** for review!

**OnMyHighHorse**: glad you like it! :)

**ToDecember**: snowball fights rule! heh. And thanks! I'm trying to keep them on a nice gradual change, nothing too fast. I dont like it when they immediatly forgive and forget and go straight to loving each other too ;) It's the journey that matters...or something like that lol. So, kisses will have to wait just a little while longer sadly.

_Anyways, here's chapter 18 finally, and yes it is short but more is coming soon ) I've already written 19 and 20 and I can't wait to see what yall think! They were really fun to write. Well, enjoy!_

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"So, let me get this straight. You found Potter and Chang snogging in the Gryffindork common room?" Malfoy asked slowly, his upper lip curling in disgust. Ginny nodded in agreement as she walked beside him back to the castle.

"Yep, they were practically sucking each other's faces off. It was nauseating," she replied dramatically, scrunching her nose up. The other teenager let out a snort, rolling his silver eyes at her.

"Please do go on, I would simply _love_ to have that particular image pop into my mind every time I snog a girl," he remarked sarcastically with a sideways glance at her.

_Isn't she the least bit upset that she caught her boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend, snogging another girl so soon after their breakup? Hmm, maybe she's tougher than she looks. Not that there's anything wrong with the way she looks_, he mused, once again having to stop himself from staring too long at her pale pink lips.

Ginny let out a twinkling laugh, bringing his thoughts back to their proper place. "I know right? And speaking of snogging, I've heard rumors that you've been avoiding a certain female Slytherin member," she commented slyly.

At the mention of Pansy, he shivered slightly and shot a hard glare towards the scarlet haired girl staring at him innocently. "Don't remind me," he muttered gloomily, ignoring the muffled snickers coming from Ginny.

When they reached the castle doors, Malfoy's whole attitude changed. A cold, blank expression came over his features, and the light died out of his silver eyes. Ginny knew that he was mentally preparing himself to face the rest of the students, and kept a respectful silence.

Quietly pushing the doors open, they took a tentative step forward, bracing themselves for the stares and accusations. Ginny's shoulders slumped as she caught sight of Harry and Ron waiting for them with stormy expressions, arms crossed tightly over their chests.

"Look out, it's your two watchdogs," Malfoy muttered to her before attempting to slink past the duo using a group of fourth years as cover.

"Stop right there Malfoy!" Ron yelled as he surged forward to grab the blond teenager by the front of his robes. Malfoy let out a strangled yelp as his oxygen was cut off and desperately reached for his wand, but Ron snatched it away from him before he could.

"Ronald Weasley! You stop that right now! Let him go before I hex you to next Thursday!" Ginny shouted as a hard, blazing look sparked to life in her brown eyes. Harry stepped up next to her and whispered something to her, but she pushed him away and stormed up to her brother who cowered before the frightening sight of a furious Ginevra Weasley.

"B-but Ginn-eeeeey. . . ", he whined, attempting to calm her down before she inflicted bodily harm on him. _She looks so much like Mum right now that it's down right scary_, he thought to himself with wide eyes

"No Ron! Shut up and let him go or else," she ground out with clenched fists. "I am sick and tired of you running my life Ron. I can be seen with whoever I want. It's none of your business," she continued in a dangerously low tone.

Malfoy used the distraction to punch Ron in the face and grab his wand. "I'll teach you to touch me Weasel!" he spat, pointing his wand directly at Ron's now blackened eye with a cruel sneer. Ginny grabbed his arm in desperation, not wanting to see either of them hurt. "Draco stop!" she pleaded, staring deep into his furious eyes.

For a second, his arm wavered, torn between the desire to please her and the need to get his revenge on her brother. Ron finally fished his own wand out of his pocket and whipped it towards Malfoy with a livid glare.

The sight brought back memories of The Dark Lord using the _crucio_ curse on him and the walls came up around his heart once again. His eyes darkened and his jaw clenched before the mask came over his face.

"Shut up Weasley. Don't you dare touch me, you filthy blood-traitor," he told her coldly, shaking her arm off easily.

Ginny stumbled back with a stunned expression, her eyes reflecting the hurt and anger inflicted by his words. His heart constricted as he saw her staring back at him with pain written all over her. Why did he say that? Why did he have to ruin everything?

He lowered his wand and took a hesitant step towards her. "G-Ginny? I d-didn't mean. . . ." he tried to say, but Ron suddenly let out an enraged roar and sent a spell flying toward him. Malfoy felt something hit him in the back, sending him crashing to the floor at her feet, before everything went black.

The last thing he saw was Ginny staring down at him with a cold, hard look on her face, unshed tears glittering in her eyes like liquid diamonds.

_**Bloody fantastic work there Draco! **_

_Oh shut up. . . ._

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_Ahh Malfoy. Two steps forward and three steps back. But, dont worry! All will be made well in the next two chapters :) Hopefully. . . . hehe. Was the ending a little too dramatic? Hmm. Tell me what yall think! ;)_


	19. Chapter 19

I got up at 6:00 this morning just to write chapter 21 O.o Let's just say that this is not normal for me lol. Well, my only defense is that when the words start coming, then you gotta start writing. Well, hope yall like it! *passes out on floor*

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Ginny shifted in the hard, uncomfortable chair beside Malfoy's bed in the infirmary. _What am I doing here_? She asked herself silently. After all, he had made it clear to her what he thought of her. But, then again, did he really?

She had seen his arm drop and the regret in his eyes before Ron pointed his wand at him. When her idiotic brother did that, a flash of horror and pain was reflected deep within his silver eyes before the walls came crashing down around his heart once again.

Did Malfoy truly mean what he said? Or was it all an act to protect himself? It must have been terrible growing up with parents who talked so casually about the Dark Arts, as if talking about the weather. Then, to have the Dark Lord himself live with you in your own house?

It was unimaginable for Ginny. At least she knew her parents loved her and would fight to the death for her. But then again, didn't his own parents do the same for him near the end of the war? His mother had lied to Voldemort himself just to learn whether her son was alive or not. Whenever anyone insulted his family, Malfoy would grow just as angry as she herself would if it was her family people were talking about.

Perhaps there was more to the Malfoys than many people thought. Ginny knew there was another side to Draco because she had seen it herself a few times. It was hard to bring out, but it was there. It was merely buried beneath layer upon layer of bitterness, anger, loneness, and perhaps even insecurity. A thought occurred to Ginny at that moment that made her blood freeze in her veins.

What if she had been the one born to the Malfoys? How would she have turned out? Would she have been stronger and resisted her parent's ambitions? Or would they have molded her into a female Draco from the start? Was it his fault that he was a Malfoy? Or was it just fate that made him who he was with or without the Malfoy name to back him up? So many questions, yet so little answers.

Malfoy groaned as the pain in his body became known to his newly conscious mind, and blinked his silver eyes open to find himself staring into the bright light of the school infirmary. _Ugh, what happened? I feel like I've been run over by a few trolls, or at least by that oaf of a gamekeeper_, he thought with a low chuckle that immediately sent another wave of pain vibrating through his chest.

Actually, he didn't mind the large man; it was simply expected of him to insult anyone of less than pure-blood. He made a terrible professor, but that didn't mean that Malfoy hated him. To be honest, he had never really thought of the older man as anything other than a target for insults. It wasn't _his_ fault that he had been raised to belittle anyone who didn't fit into his parent's high standards.

A glance around revealed that he was the only one in the room, at least until he caught sight of Ginny sitting in the chair to the left of his bed. When she realized that he knew she was there, a blush worked its way up her neck, and she averted her eyes in silence.

Malfoy's mouth opened and then shut again as his brain went into overload trying to form understandable sentences. "What are _you_ doing here?" he finally managed to ask, more harshly than he meant to. Hiding a wince, he stared at her and waited for an answer.

Ginny's eyes flew back to his before hardening. Lifting her chin in determination, she took a deep, calming breath. "I wanted to see if you were alright," she stated firmly, her brow furrowed in badly hidden concern. She was startled by his answering laugh that ended in a wheeze.

After he finally got his breath back, he raised a shaky eyebrow at her and smirked that annoying smirk of his. "You were worried about me? Hah! I find that a little hard to believe," he remarked with a sneer.

Ginny rolled her eyes at his unconvincing display of coldness. Now that she understood him a little better, she knew when he was trying to put up that protective wall of indifference and scorn.

"Yes your royal, cold-hearted Highness. Some people actually care about you, so shut up and rest some more before I cast a knock out spell on you," she replied with a smug smile. Malfoy scowled at her before turning over on his right side so that his back was facing her. Ginny laughed out loud at his childish actions and settled more comfortably into the hard chair.

"Blasted chair. . . ." she muttered after a few more seconds of shifting around. Malfoy snickered just loud enough for her to hear, and then it was her turn to scowl at his back.

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*wakes up and rubs sleep out of eyes* So? How was it? Did it help you understand both of their points of view better? Or did it just confuse you? All feedback greatly appreciated! :) Thanks! *goes back to bed now for some much needed sleep* heh


	20. Chapter 20

I've wanted to write this scene from the beginning. I planned it as the last chapter, but it kinda evolved into something entirely different. So, I will be wrapping the story up in the next 1-2 chapters instead of this one. There's a lot of convo in this one, instead of thoughts like the previous one. Hope yall like it, and that Ginny and Malfoy's thoughts/POVs are in character for them. Well, enjoy! :)

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"You want us to do what?!" Malfoy shouted, his composer slipping as he stared incredulously at Professor McGonagall. Ginny rolled her eyes at him before turning back to the frustrated witch. "Just ignore him. We're very grateful that you are letting us finish our detention time a few days early," she said sweetly, ignoring Malfoy's silent fuming.

McGonagall narrowed her eyes at the young man and pressed her lips into a thin white line. "Thank you, Ms. Weasley. As I was saying," she said with a stern glare towards Malfoy who heatedly returned it. "Your last detention is to gather enough ginger roots to fill these four baskets for Professor Slughorn's class. I'm sure I can trust you two to get along enough to not need Hagrid to accompany you," she finished with a slightly dubious look.

Ginny nodded enthusiastically and stomped on Malfoy's foot as he opened his mouth to argue further. "But-agh!" he broke off as her heel connected with his foot through the soft fur boots. Ginny smiled innocently at the older witch and waved goodbye at her. McGonagall sent one last apprehensive glance towards them before turning and walking back towards the castle.

As soon as the older witch was out of hearing range, Malfoy spun around towards Ginny and thrust his face close to hers. "Just what do you think you're doing?" he hissed, his eyes blazing with a furious light. Ginny frowned up at him before walking away and grabbing her two baskets.

"Come on Malfoy. It's going to take us a while to gather all the roots we need and I don't want to have to stay out here after dark," she called to him over her shoulder as she headed into the trees.

Malfoy was left staring after her with a gaping mouth, unable to believe that he had been trapped into going back to the one place he said he would never go again.

The Forbidden Forest.

"This is all your fault, you know," Malfoy commented to Ginny as he knelt down to tug up another stubborn ginger root. The Gryffindor glanced over at him from her spot beside a large pine tree. She sat her two baskets down and put her hands on her hips, glaring at his bent back. "Excuse me, but just what is my fault?" she asked heatedly, a now familiar blazing expression on her fair face.

Malfoy tugged at the small root, twisting it hard. "Oh, let me think. There are sooooo many instances to choose from," he shot back snidely over his shoulder. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him and stomped over to his spot. Grabbing the back of his robes, she dragged him up and spun him around to face her.

"Draco Malfoy! I have had enough of your snarky attitude, your degrading comments, and. . . .and well, I'm just sick and tired of you! You just like to belittle people to make yourself feel better because you know that no one cares enough to stick up for you, so you take that out on other people. You go strutting around this school like you own it, _but you don't!_**You are a nobody now**! Your father is in Azkaban where he belongs and your mother should be shipped off there, too. Your whole family is nothing but stuck up snobs who like to dabble in the Dark Arts to make themselves feel important. Well, let me tell you this. You might think that because your father has the Malfoy fortune to back him up that you can do whatever you want, but you can't. You are just like everybody else here. You don't matter any more or any less than any other student. **So stop acting like you're some kind of king!**" she shouted, gulping in breaths as she waited for his reaction to her harsh words.

Malfoy stared at her, his fists clenched so tight that the veins threatened to pop out. "Are you done?" he asked in a deathly cold tone. Ginny's eyes widened as he stepped closer to her, and she stumbled back blindly.

"First of all, Weasley, do you honestly think that I **like **having no friends to talk to, nobody to ask for advice, nobody to care about me? Second, I never asked to be born a Malfoy. I never asked to be given parents with such high standards. Do you want to know what happened to me when I disobeyed my father's orders? I was punished. Not your kind of punishments where you have to go to your room without dinner. No, I went to my room only after having been literally **cursed** for my disobedience. I never wanted to dabble in the Dark Arts, as you so aptly put it. I was **forced **to take the Dark Mark under pain of death, not only of myself, but my whole family. The Dark Lord would have killed my parents if I didn't do exactly what he told me to do. Do you think that I **wanted** to kill Dumbledore? He was a fool, but an innocent one. And when I had my chance, I couldn't do it. **I couldn't kill him!** Do you have any idea what Voldemort did to me because of that? No, I don't think you do. And another thing, my father isn't in Azkaban anymore Weasley. **He's dead**. Given the Dementor's Kiss Christmas day, he was. My mother is in St. Mungos because of her depression. So, don't you dare talk to me about what my family** deserves**," he spat out, his face contorting into a fierce scowl and his eyes burning into hers like smoldering coals.

Ginny's mouth gaped open as her mind frantically tried to process what he was saying. "I. . . I don't understand," she whispered with a stricken expression. "No. I guess you don't," he muttered before turning stiffly on his heels and striding away to angrily kick his two baskets over. She watched in stunned silence as he avoided her questioning gaze and instead started walking towards the castle with his fist in his pockets.

"Mal-Draco wait," she called softly, running up and hesitantly placing a hand on his broad shoulder. He visibly stiffened under her touch and jerked his shoulder out from under her hand. "Just leave me alone Weasley," he snarled quietly, bowing his head so that his hair hid his pained eyes from view. Just as she was about to try to apologize, a sudden crash echoed through the trees, sending flocks of birds shooting into the sky, squawking loudly.

They both whirled around, and stared into the dark trees, trying to penetrate the darkness and see what had made the sound. Malfoy whipped his wand out and held it in a shaking hand, his entire face paler than it had ever been. Ginny clutched his arm with one hand while the other held her own wand. "What was that?" she whispered sharply, fear clutching her heart. Malfoy licked his lips nervously before whispering back.

"Just shut up! It might hear you," he replied in a low tone, unconsciously placing himself between her and the direction the sound was coming from. "Back away slowly," he continued softly out of the side of his mouth. Ginny nodded numbly, stumbling backwards in silence, still clutching his right arm.

All of a sudden, a figure came bursting out of the trees and straight towards them. They screamed hoarsely in terror before turning and bolting towards the direction of the castle. Ginny looked over her shoulder for a second and screamed again.

"It's a gigantic troll!" she yelled to Malfoy who was running beside her. He shouted a powerful spell over his shoulder towards the troll before grabbing Ginny's hand and pulling her onwards.

They burst out of the tree line and almost wept with relief as they caught sight of Hagrid's hut, smoke billowing cheerfully from the tall chimney. Behind them, the troll staggered back as the sudden light hit his sensitive eyes.

Shielding his eyes, he let out a frustrated bellow before giving up and stumbling back into the forest with a dazed expression. Ginny and Malfoy managed to crash onto the porch and weakly pound on the door before falling to the floor of the porch in an exhausted heap.

They dragged in ragged breaths as they waited for Hagrid to open the door. But, he never did. "Where is that blasted gamekeeper?" Malfoy ground out hoarsely, his back against the door and his legs spread out in front of him. Ginny slid over to sit beside him and rested her head on his strong shoulder.

"I'm sorry Draco," she finally managed to whisper, closing her eyes so that she wouldn't have to look into his. Malfoy was silent for a moment before resting his head against the tip of hers. "I'm sorry too, Ginny," he replied softly, breathing in the scent of her strawberry shampoo, unable to resist placing a light kiss on her delicate head. That was when she knew that they were going to be okay. On many different levels.

That was how Hagrid found them on his porch when he came back from checking on the bowtruckles at the other end of the forest. Ginny curled against Malfoy's side, his left arm snaked protectively around her slender waist, and both sound asleep.

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Aww! So sweet heh. So, how was it? Any thoughts on what yall want in the last chapter(s)? Yes, I am going to try and work in a kiss ;) Plus, still have the second condition for the truffles!


	21. Chapter 21

_I apologize for the long wait, but I haven't been able to find the time to actually sit down and work on the story. I was out all day for three days straight, and when I got back, I was too exhausted to even look at a computer. The back to school rush has really messed up my writing time :P But, I finally looked back over this chapter and deemed it ready for publishing! Hope it isnt too bad lol. Right now, I'm working on the last part of the last chapter, but don't expect an update for 1-2 days, 3 at the most. Again, sorry bout that. Well, hope yall like this one! Enjoy!_

_Thanks to the following for recent reviews!_

The Other Side of Sanity: Thanks! Hope to get last one out soon

OnMyHighHorse: Eh, who needs sleep when you got fanfics? *pulls out a half-empty bag of chocolate and pushes the other fifty bags out of sight.* And yes, I do tend to eat chocolate when I need energy. Somehow, they seem to give me that little boost to continue on writing lol. Anyone else do that?

marinka: Well, they won't go immediatly into declaring their true love or anything, but they will become a little closer to each other. Perhaps close enough for a few kisses? Heh ;)

zahir786543: Thanks! Glad you think that :)

Guest: Glad you're liking it!

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Ginny's eyes fluttered open to the sight of stormy grey eyes staring down at her, mere inches from her face. "AGH!" she screamed, automatically jerking upright and pulling the covers up to her chin. Unfortunately, this meant that her forehead slammed directly into her unwelcome intruder's forehead. Malfoy stumbled back, one hand holding his aching head.

"Blast it Weasley! You're going to be the death of me!" he moaned out as Ginny suddenly recalled the events of the night before. Hagrid had finally come home and let them stay the night at his hut with him since it was too late to go stomping up to the castle.

A blush stole over her fair cheeks as she remembered how snugly she had fit against Malfoy's side while they were waiting for the gamekeeper. To distract herself from those unsettling thoughts, she darted a look around the room.

A fire was crackling pleasantly in the fireplace, a kettle of water hanging over the flames. Three wooden chairs were placed haphazardly around a small table in the middle of the floor. Long, cream-colored curtains adorned the windows around the room, obviously picked out by Hagrid's new wife from that French school.

Ginny had forgotten the woman's name almost as soon as she heard it since, at the time, she and Fleur had not been on the best of terms. So, whenever the older girl had opened her mouth to drone on about how much better her own school was to Hogwarts, Ginny had automatically closed her ears. But, that is another story for another time. Ginny shook her head to clear her thoughts and continued examining the cozy hut.

Most of the room looked the same as it did before the fire, but Hagrid had decided when he rebuilt it that he needed more space for him and his large wife. So, he rebuilt the hut almost exactly the same way as before, just bigger. The couch Ginny was laying on was one of the new additions to the more spacious hut. Speaking of couches. . . .

"Where did you sleep?" Ginny inquired slowly, raising one eyebrow at Malfoy's stony expression. His lips tightened and his jaw clenched as she waited for an answer. "The floor," he ground out stiffly, glaring at Ginny's laughing form.

"Heh, sorry Malfoy. Ladies get the best accommodations here, I suppose. Hmm, I guess we better get going before Hagrid comes back and asks us why we aren't back at the castle," she added somewhat reluctantly. It had been nice spending time with Malfoy, and she knew that as soon as they reached the castle doors, everything would change. Their detention time was over. There was no longer a reason for him to talk to her or even look at her, really.

They would go back to being enemies, or at least distant acquaintances. No more laughing together, or having snowball fights, or gossiping about Harry and his latest girlfriend, or arguing over whose favorite professional Quidditch players were the best. They would just go back to ignoring each other at the very best.

Ginny simply couldn't bear it if he started to call her names or make fun of her family again. Not after all the time they had spent talking normally to each other for once, like true friends would do. Or, some times, more than friends. But, all that would change once they reached the castle doors. It was inevitable, she supposed.

Malfoy noticed a strangely sad, almost bittersweet look come over her face and huffed out an impatient breath. Now was not the time to go mooning over old boyfriends or whatever she was doing. They had to be back at the castle soon.

"Alright Weasley. Come on, McGonagall expects us back at the castle by 10:00. The old bat wants to 'have a proper discussion' with us. Hmph. More like give us more detentions for nearly being killed because of _her_!" he spat out, his face contorting as he struggled not to start cursing the living daylights out of everything around him for the horrible predicament he had gotten himself into. Or, as he thought of it, Weasley and McGonagall had gotten him into.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him before flinging the covers off her and standing up, somewhat unsteadily. She unconsciously reached out a hand for him and he growled in frustration, but held out his arm for her to lean on as she became more awake.

_A few seconds later. . . ._

"You almost ready nooow?" he drawled, leaning back against the wall with his lean arms folded across his chest. Ginny scowled at him as she finished up sweeping the floor of the hut.

She had not thought it right to simply leave without doing something to repay Hagrid for letting them stay with him last night. That was when she spotted the dusty floors messy kitchen. So, she had got to work cleaning the hut for him. Unfortunately, Malfoy had not had the same inclination.

"This is a waste of time. If he wanted his shack clean, then he would have done it himself. So what if we crashed here for one night? He would have turned us out into the cold if he hadn't wanted us here," he argued, eyeing her as she moved around the room, sweeping up all the dust and dirt.

Ginny scowled at him over her shoulder as she bent down to inspect under the couch. "Exactly. He could have turned us away, but he didn't. So, I'm repaying him the only way I know how. By cleaning," she stated triumphantly, apparently believing that she had won that round. "Well, if you're set on cleaning this whole rundown pile of boards, then why don't you use, oh I don't know. MAGIC," he hinted sarcastically, rolling his silver eyes at her.

Ginny stilled, sweeping forgotten, as she closed her eyes in embarrassment. At her house, her mum had not used magic to do all the chores very often. Instead, she had done it the Muggle way and had her children help her with the manual labor. As such, Ginny was still not used to being able to use her wand to make the room spick and span instantly. It was always good old brooms and washrags for her.

The red-haired Gryffindor couldn't imagine Malfoy ever lowering himself to use cleaning products. He wouldn't even use a wand to clean it. No, he would have just yelled for the house-elves to come and do their job.

"Oh, yeah. I, um. Forgot about that," she confessed quietly, mentally bracing herself for his scoffing. Malfoy merely sighed before tugging his wand out from his pocket. "_Scourgify!" _he muttered, waving his wand to encompass the entire room.


	22. Chapter 22

I finally found the time to finish this up! I'm so happy heh :) There will be one more chapter after this one, and the story will be over. I'm so glad yall are liking this! I honestly did not expect this much positive feedback, so thank you once again everyone. Wow 33 reviews! I'm absolutely flabbergasted! And yes, that is a real word heh. Anyways, on to the individual thanks.

Guest: Thanks! Glad I'm doing something right heh

The Other Side of Sanity: Don't worry there will be at least one kiss ;)

OnMyHighHorse: I know right! That's like bigger news than even the 2012 Olympics heheh

roni2010: thanks for review! I'm glad you enjoyed the troll part! It was really fun to write :)

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"You know, you never did tell me what the second condition is," Malfoy remarked casually, his hands deep within his pockets as he sauntered up to the castle beside Ginny. She turned towards him, a confused expression on her fair face. "For the chocolate truffles," he added with a roll of his eyes in her direction.

_Really, the things this girl forgets. She'd probably loose her own head if it wasn't attached properly_, he mused to himself with a soft chuckle. Even though he knew it wasn't true, and that Ginny was far from scatterbrained, it was entertaining to think about. Realization lit up Ginny's face at his words and she grinned over at him as she suddenly stopped walking.

"Alright. Close your eyes," she commanded with a mischievous smirk. Malfoy stared at her in suspicion, his stormy grey eyes sparking as two different parts of him battled for control. To trust or not to trust? That is the question. At least, for this instance it was.

Finally, the slightly, ahem, '_better_' part of him won out and he reluctantly let his eyes fall shut with a defeated sigh. Ginny lifted her hands and placed them gently on his strong shoulders. Malfoy tensed under her touch, but remained where he was.

Raising herself on her tiptoes just enough to be at eye level with the tall Slytherin, she brought her face close to his. Their breath mingled together in the limited space between them. Malfoy's heart nearly stopped when he felt her moving her face closer so that her lips just barely touched his.

"Tag, your it," she whispered softly against his mouth before spinning around and running away laughing, her red hair streaming behind her. Malfoy stood there in a stunned silence for a few seconds as his brain frantically tried to catch up with his erratically thumping heart.

Finally, his body started functioning again and he took off after her, his long legs pumping in an effort to catch her and demand his chocolates. And yes, maybe also a kiss or two while he was at it. But, he was mainly after the chocolates.

Students stared wide-eyed at the sight of Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy running through the halls, laughing their heads off about something or other. The younger students who had only _heard_ of the horrors of the Malfoys merely scowled at them and muttered under their breaths about there never being a professor around when you need one.

On the other hand, the other students knew all about both Ginny and Draco's past and many nearly fainted on sight in horrified fascination. The ones who did this were mostly the girls, as they were terribly frightened at the possibility that Hogwart's most eligible bachelor had gone quite mad. Honestly, to be seen with a Weasley? Mad indeed. As for Harry and Ron, they were stuck in detention for the next week for trying to hex Malfoy as he ran past them.

Unfortunately, the platinum blond teenager was too fast and the hex hit Professor Slughorn instead. It was a rather odd sight, but it did have a rather ironic twist to it. Who would not laugh at the sight of Slughorn vomiting up slugs? McGonagall scolded them rather fiercely for it, but it was worth it seeing the overweight man running around, flapping his arms and yelling.

However, the Headmistress's lecture was nothing compared to Hermonie's when she found out about what they had done. When they finally escaped from the flaming dragon of fury that was Hermonie Granger, the poor guys were feeling as if they were only two inches tall.

Malfoy caught sight of a flash of red in the crowd and pushed his worn out legs even harder until he reached a shadowy alcove outside of the entrance leading up to the Gryffindor tower. It seemed familiar to him somehow, as if he had been there before. _Well, of __**cours**__e I've been here before. It __**is**__ part of the castle after all_, Malfoy argued silently, rolling his eyes in exasperation at his own thoughts.

There was no time to ponder the matter further, however, because he had lost sight of Ginny again. Just as he was about to start searching somewhere else for the elusive Gryffindor, a hand shot out from the shadows, grabbing the edges of his robes and jerking him under the overhang.

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Hmm. Who could it be? Ron there to kill him? Pansy there to drag him off for a snogging lesson or a tearful begging for one? Maybe even Harry there to demand he stay away from his girl. Who do you think it is? Probably obvious, but oh well heh. Any helpful tips that you would like to share? Anything that you found wrong or you know a better/different way to write it?


	23. Chapter 23

_Well, after a month of reading, yall finally have the ending. Hopefull it's not disappointing heh. I wanted a kiss, and I had to do the chocolates of course. I just want to thank everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story. You really helped me find the incentitive to start writing again. Yall are awesome! :) 36 reviews, wow. I'm so thankful that people actually enjoy my simple little story. And to think, I almost never even published this lol. Once again, I can never say enough thanks!_

**Pimberlee**

**marinka**

**OnMyHighHorse**

**The Other Side of Sanity**

**ToDecember**

**ingsception**

**zahir786543**

**roni2010**

**6 Guests** (I think I counted that right o.o, heh if not, sorry)

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Malfoy stumbled back and whipped his head around, ready to suitably punish the person who dared jerk _him_ anywhere. "Weasley?" He gasped, glaring at her as he saw her answering grin. "Who were you expecting? Pansy here to drag you off for a snogging lesson?" Ginny asked innocently, her lips curling upwards in wicked amusement.

Malfoy snorted, crossing his lean arms and casually leaning back against the wall that he now recognized as the same alcove that Ginny had jerked him into so that Potter and his sidekick wouldn't see them so long ago.

"Alright, I want my truffles now," he stated flatly, his silver eyes narrowing at her in the darkness. The Gryffindor smiled somewhat sadly and looked at the ground. "Fine. I'll just go get them then," she replied softly, the sparkle in her eyes dimming slightly. Malfoy watched in thoughtful silence as she spun around and started walking towards the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

What was with her attitude? Why had she gone from happy to sad so fast? What was there for her to be sad about anyway? _Maybe she just doesn't want to let go of those chocolates_, Malfoy reasoned to himself somewhat uneasily. Why he even cared about how she was feeling, he did not know and honestly did not _want _to know. Of course, it absolutely could not have anything to do with his galloping heart, sweaty palms, and fluttery stomach when she was near.

Surely it was mere coincidence that every time she left, he felt such disappointment and had to forcibly stop himself from following after her like a lost puppy. It was most likely just his eagerness to get the chocolates. Or, perhaps even his anxiousness about the upcoming N.E.W.T.s tests.

The fact that he had completely forgotten about everything not pertaining to Ginevra Weasley, including the N.E.W.T.s, did not matter. What he was feeling simply could not be what the little voice inside his head was trying to convince him of. _Hmph. Imagine, __**me**__ having a crush on the Weaselette_, Malfoy thought to himself with a scornful snort.

_**It's more than a little crush, and you know it. You have true feelings for Ginny, but you're just too stubborn to admit it.**_

_That's ridiculous! Simply ridiculous! I am a proud Malfoy and she is nothing more than a blood-traitor. There is no possible future where we could ever be more than distant classmates, and certainly not what you are implying. _

_**Stop making excuses and accept the fact that you do, in fact, care about her. If you felt only hatred and scorn towards her, then why did you automatically protect her from the troll?**_

_I have no idea what you are talking about! I just didn't want her to start screaming and alert everything within hearing range that we were there. That's all! I didn't do it out of concern for her safety._

_**Oh, really? You stepped between her and the troll even though you were terrified out of your mind. If you didn't care about her, then why would you protect her? Why do your palms sweat each time she comes in the room? Why does her approval matter more to you than anything else ever has? Why does the mere thought of her with another man make your stomach churn and your blood boil? Hmm?**_

_I. . . .do not know._

Before he had a chance to fully examine what this meant, footsteps echoed down the hall and he spun around in surprise. A few seconds later, Ginny came striding down the hallway, a strangely determined glint in her big brown eyes. In her hands was the coveted box of chocolates that he had craved only moments ago, but now had no appetite for.

Ginny saw an almost bemused expression flit across his face before he forced his lips into a confident smirk. "Took you long enough Weasley," he drawled, his eyes flickered towards the chocolates and back towards her face. The red-haired teenager shrugged lightly, clearly not daunted by his words.

"Sorry Draco, dear. But, I've spent enough time around you that I've become immune to your ever delightful words," she remarked cheerfully, a sugary sweet grin lighting up her beautiful features. Sparkling brown eyes met his stormy grey ones in an unspoken challenge. Malfoy gritted his teeth together, determined not to let her affect his decision to go back to being cold and distant acquaintances.

"Look, Weasley-"he started brusquely, desperately wanting to get it over with so that he could grab the chocolates and leave before the full impact of his words hit her. Even though his heart was nearly frozen, for some reason he couldn't stand to see the pain he was about to cause her.

Without warning, Ginny surged forward suddenly, her hands reaching up to grab his robe. The box of chocolates dropped to the stone floor, completely forgotten. Jerking him towards her, she smashed her lips against his, effectively cutting off his words. Malfoy remained frozen for all of two seconds before he succumbed to her and started kissing her back.

All thoughts fled from his mind at that point. All that mattered was that Draco was kissing Ginny. No Malfoy, no Weasley. Just Draco and Ginny. Her soft lips curled upwards into a triumphant smile before pressing against his again, more gently than before.

A few moments later, Malfoy reluctantly broke away from her. Ginny's hand fell limply to her sides, an amazed expression on her face. "Um, wow," she whispered, one hand reach up to touch her tingling lips. Malfoy suddenly threw his head back and started laughing, having to lean back against the wall to support himself.

"A little different from snogging Potter, isn't it?" he asked, grinning at her in smug satisfaction. Ginny nodded mutely, slowly walking over to lean against the wall beside him. They stood there in comfortable silence for a few moments, each deep within their own thoughts. Malfoy absently licked his lips, frowning at the foreign taste that greeted him. After thinking it over, he suddenly realized what it was. "Hey! You've been eating my chocolates!"

Ginny grinned as she grasped his chin and turned it towards her. "Shut up and kiss me again, Malfoy," she demanded softly, her heart swelling to twice its size. _It may be a little cliché, but I think I'm in love_, she thought to herself dreamily as Malfoy leaned down to claim her lips again.

_Later that night. . . . _

Hermonie glanced up from the couch where she was reading her new book at the sound of the portrait swinging open. Ginny stepped through with a strangely distant expression on her face. Hermonie smiled as she saw her friend reach up to touch her lips with a wistful sigh. She knew exactly what that meant because it had happened to her before.

Ginevra Weasley was in love. And Hermonie knew just who the lucky man was. _He might be a snake, but if Ginny likes him, then he must have a heart of gold. Or maybe he's just a good kisser_," Hermonie thought with a secret grin as she saw Ginny float up the stairs to the girl's dorms, not even noticing that she had an observer.

_Nah, she's in love. Not even the best kisser would send Ginny into her own world like this. Not even Harry had done it, for that matter. She must really like him to be acting like this._ The sound of a page turning echoed through the small room, nearly lost in the popping and crackling of the blazing fire.

_Ron is not going to like this. But, then again, if she waits for **his** approval, she'll be fifty by the time she finally starts going steady with him. . . ._

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Soooo? How was it? Totally awesome, good, okay, average, not bad, could be better, terrible, or the worst thing you have ever seen in your whole life? Hmmm? Tell me what yall think could be better! The only way you learn is to make mistakes, to recognize that you have made them, and to try and do better the next time :)


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